The Darkness Within Part 2 - Fairy Dance
by Mortifer V
Summary: To those who have not read Part 1 of The Darkness Within, I suggest you do so before you read this story as it is a follow up of Part 1, hence the name. Read the Introduction chapter for a (very) brief summary of what will happen in this story.
1. Introduction

**To those who have not read Part 1 of The Darkness Within, I suggest you do so before you read this story as it is a follow up of Part 1, hence the name.**

On the 7th of November, 2024, Katsumoto Kirigaya, who went by the online alias "Mortifer", defeated Kayaba Akihiko and ended the death game known as Sword Art Online. Now free from the game, Katsumoto seeks to make amends with his family as soon as he is finished with rehab. Yuzuki Ai (Violet) was forced to attend a family reunion in Kyoto even while still needing rehab, which caused the two to be separated. While Katsumoto mourns for her, his brother Kazuto finds out that Asuna is still asleep and is trapped in a game called ALfheim Online. Determined to help his brother save Asuna, Katsumoto renters Virtual Reality and plunges into the World of Fairies.

The story will be using four signs that have different meanings:

 _Italics_ indicate that the word is either a nickname, an item name, a guild name, the name of a  Sword Skill or Magic spell.

(Eg. _Long Sword, The Samurai, Wolves of the Full Moon, Linear_ )

 _Italics also indicates flashbacks if being used on an entire paragraph, or sentence and not just a few words._

Underlined indicates that the word is the name of a location, the name of a Skill, the name of a certain ability in a Skill, or other unique things inside the story.

(Eg. Swilvane, One-Handed Sword, Tracking, Mental Health - Counseling Program)

 _Words_ that are both underlined and _italicized_ indicate that I (the writer) am trying to put emphasis on the word.

 _While most of Part 1 was an original plot created by me, Part 2 more strictly follows the canon events of the Fairy Dance Arc. There are changes here and there but not as much non-canon as Part 1._

 _Disclaimer_

 _This is a fan fiction. Sword Art Online is owned by A-1 Pictures, Anniplex USA, and Reki Kawahara (the author of the Light Novels). I do not own any part of SAO whatsoever._


	2. Chapter 1: A Whole New World

**(Katsumoto)**

 **January 2025, Two months after the end of the SAO Incident**

Last November, the death game called Sword Art Online ended when I defeated its creator, Kayaba Akihiko, in a battle to the death. Even though I should've died, I somehow managed to live since the Cardinal system which ran the game could not delete me or send signals to the NerveGear to fry my brain with a microwave burst. Well, it's not like I was sad that it didn't die. Although I would've been fine with death, I'm also happy that I get a second chance in life so I can make up for all the terrible things that have happened.

After the game ended, my brother Kazuto and I had to go through rehabilitation, but we've recently gotten out of it. What I'm much more thankful for is that I managed to get away from counseling. Apparently, all Red Players, players who have killed other players inside the game, were forced to undergo counseling and observation. When I managed to hack into the SAO database, I found that in all except three of victims that fell from my hands, their cause of death states that they were killed by "-". The SAO Case Victims Rescue Force have been frantically trying to find out who the murderer is. One person managed to find out, however we managed to strike a deal.

The man who found out happened to be the head of the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force. He was named Kikuoka Seijirou. He asked for me and my brother to give them information regarding SAO. In exchange, he would let us keep our beloved NerveGears, give Kazuto and I information about Violet and Asuna, as well as let me walk away freely and not be jailed for mass murder. Letting me walk away with a clean record seemed like a stretch, but the man held his word. With that, the three of us walked away with what we wanted.

After learning the location of Violet, I contacted her via cellphone. She was overjoyed to know that I was still alive. She wanted to see me as soon as possible but she said she and her family were going to Kyoto for a family reunion. Since it was apparently important, she went to Kyoto and continued her rehab there along with her cousin ViVi. Although I was happy to know that she was doing well, I was still upset that I haven't met her in rea-life yet. However, my brother has it much worse than me.

He's been visiting a certain hospital many times lately, to see Asuna. The problem was, is that she was still asleep. After SAO had ended, everyone thought that the six-thousand remaining players would all wake up and resume their normal lives. However, there were three-hundred players including Asuna who has yet to wake up from their forced coma. Nobody knows why they are still asleep, but Kazuto is not taking it too well as he too wants to talk with Asuna again.

Anyways, other than Kazuto's sadness and Violet's absence, I've been quite happy. With Kazuto's support, I finally made it up with my family for all of the bad things I've done to them. I bought my cousin Suguha a bunch of things she always wanted using my own money which I've been saving up for quite a while now. She was already happy that both Kazuto and I returned and was completely surprised at my sudden change in personality. I couldn't really make it up to my aunt and uncle who our adoptive parents since they are always so busy with work, but they too are happy with my change in personality.

Because they are never here, I've also taken the responsibility of doing most of the housework and taking care of Kazuto and Suguha, like a guardian. I do most of the cooking, cleaning and laundry which I rarely did at all back before the SAO incident. Right now, I was busy doing the dishes but I was close to being finished. When I finally did finish, I noticed that I had the rest of the day to do anything I want until it is time for dinner. I was thinking about taking a nap, but I decided to spend some time with Kazuto and Suguha. I looked for them around the house including their rooms only to find nothing. Where could they be?  
"Kazuto? Sugu?" I called out to them, yelling inside the house in case I missed them somehow. When I received no answer, I called out for them once again outside and also got no response, "Where in the world…"

Just then, I began picking up loud whacking noises nearby. I walked around the house and spotted our family dojo which was currently open. Sure enough, the noises I heard were coming from that direction. I started walking over to the dojo and found that Kazuto and Suguha were having a kendo match. Curious, I entered the dojo and leaned against the wall, spectating their match. For someone who was recently out of rehab, Kazuto was fighting pretty well. He wielded the bamboo sword with one-hand unlike the more favored two-handed way which Sugu used. Even so, he's managing to block, parry and dodge Suguha's strikes. Just from looking at how my brother was attacking, I could tell he was trying to recreate the Sword Skills from SAO. Even if he was one of the top players in SAO, without the system assisting him, I doubt that Kazuto can beat Suguha. After all, she was amongst the top eight in the Nationals for kendo.

Just as I was thinking Kazuto would lose, he and Suguha locked swords and forced a standstill. Kazuto had to switch to using both his hands as Sugu was trying to break through his block. In the end however, Sugu broke through and whacked my brother hard on the head with her bamboo sword. Looking at Kazuto's reaction and the appearance of the sword, I could tell that he had taken a heavy hit despite wearing head protection.

"A-Are you alright Nii-chan?" Sugu asked him. He held his hand up saying he was alright, although he doesn't look the part.

"Wow, you got me good… You're pretty strong Sugu." Kazuto complimented, "You'd put even Heathcliff on the edge…"

I smiled at his statement since I also thought that if Suguha had been with us in SAO, she would be one of the top players due to her experience in swordplay. Even so, I don't think she would've beaten Heathcliff since her reaction time or speed isn't as good as Kazuto's or mine. Though I can't really say anything since anything can happen in a game. I'm the perfect example. Speaking of fighting, Kazuto and Sugu ended their match and my brother swung around his bamboo sword and then habitually "sheathed" it on his back. Sugu became confused and I started laughing. Kazuto realized his mistake and put his sword down. The two of them then turned to look at me.

"Good morning Onii-chan. Were you watching us?" Sugu asked me. I nodded my head and approached the two, "I didn't even notice you walk in?"

"Really? Weren't you facing the entrance for most of the battle?" I asked her, "I know you were fighting with Kazuto, but you should've been able to catch a glimpse of me."

"No, I didn't see anything."

"Oh, well whatever. It doesn't really matter much. So why the sudden kendo duel?"

"I wanted to test out if I could perform the Sword Skills in SAO in the real life. It's pretty hard without a system-assist. You want to try going at it with Suguha?" Kirito encouraged me, tossing me his bamboo sword which I caught. He then proceeded to remove his gear.

"I think I'll pass. Not to be rude, but I think I may win anyway since I was always better than Kazuto in kendo and sword fighting… Is it me or is this sword extremely light?" I asked my two siblings.

"Gosh… Both you and Kazuto-nii said that the sword was light… That sword is made of timber bamboo so it should be heavy. Did you guys get stronger or something during your rehab?" Suguha mused.

"I think it's more of what happened to us in the game. I guess the two of us got used to handling heavier swords that are harder to swing than something like a katana or a shinai."

"Oh, and you said that you thought you were going to win? You sure you don't want to go against me?" Suguha challenged with a mischievous smile.

"Like I said, I'm better than Kazuto in terms of strength and technique. Just like you, I was in the Nationals, so I think my skill in kendo is still pretty high. I'm not trying to be rude here but I just don't think I'll find it interesting. Plus, I want to relax since I just got finished with doing all of the chores."

"Well, I guess we should thank you for doing that." Kazuto stated as he walked by me and pat me on my shoulder, "I'll make you some ramen if you want. What's your favorite again? Hakata, right?"

"Yeah, it is. I appreciate your generosity." I smiled at my brother as I also pat him on his shoulder before he left the room.

"Hey Katsu-nii…" Suguha's voice called from behind me. I turned to see her in her normal clothes. She had taken the gear off pretty quickly, "So you and Nii-chan got better in sword play while you were stuck in that game?"

"Yeah." I answered her, "It was the main way of surviving in the game and the most favored since the sword was the most balanced of all the weapons in the game. Kazuto's muscle memory allowed him to last that long against you."

"Speaking of games… Actually, never mind that. I'm going to keep it a secret!" Suguha giggled as she too began walking away, "Maybe I'll tell you guys about it later on!"

My adoptive sister walked away from me, leaving me confuses as to what she meant by games. She began heading over to our house while I simply stayed inside the dojo. I held the bamboo sword which Kazuto had given me and held it just like how I would with the Sword of Light and the Sword of Darkness. It's clearly lighter since it was wood and not some magic metal. I began swinging the sword around and saw a dummy I could practice my swings on. I walked up to it and used up all my might in one swing.

In SAO, the dummy would've been broken due to my strength being elevated but since this is reality, the dummy only recoiled. The force of my swing made me scared since the sound the shinai created signaled that it may have been too much strain. We haven't been keeping good care of this sword, and it's really old too. I should probably put this with all the other old shinais we have. It's a good thing Kazuto didn't have problems with it during their duel. Now that I am looking back at it, this was actually my shinai before I quit kendo many years ago. Maybe I'll keep this in my room as a reminder.

I searched for the shina's sheathe and carried the bamboo sword back to the house. Upon entering through the door, I saw Kazuto in the kitchen, cooking up breakfast for him and Sugu as well as my ramen. I could hear Suguha in the upstairs bathroom, humming while taking a shower. I went upstairs and into my room where I threw my old shinai on my bed and left it there. I then went back downstairs and collapsed on the couch.

"Katsumoto, I'm heading off to Saitama again." Kazuto called out to me in the kitchen.

"Oh… You're going to see Asuna again?" I asked him.

"Yeah…" he replied in a low voice.

"Okay then. Don't stay there for too long or you'll make me worry."

"What, are you becoming my mother now?" Kazuto joked.

"Just hurry up and make me my ramen…"

 **Afternoon**

Even though I finished my ramen almost instantly, I still have the bowl with me on the couch. Since I had done my chores, I was too exhausted to stand up and so I just sat on the couch, holding an empty bowl of ramen whilst watching television. I've been doing this for so long now that Kazuto has returned from his trip to the hospital. I barely managed to hear the sound of his bike's bell as he rode up to our house's driveway.

Wishing to greet my brother, I stood up from the couch and went to the door. That's when I noticed that I was still holding the bowl of ramen, and so I quickly went to the kitchen to drop it off before rushing back to the front of the house. My brother parked his bike at the front porch where he usually does. When he was heading towards the door, I opened it for him.

"Sup Kazuto." I greeted him.

"Hey…" he muttered in a low voice.

As he walked past me, I could sense sadness and despair radiating from him. He looked down to the ground and his eyes seemed very distant. My brother removed his shoes and headed upstairs without saying another word to me. Suguha appeared a moment later. She was peeking through the door and watching Kazuto as he slowly walked back to his room. She then entered the house and stood right beside me.

"Did something happen to Kazuto-nii?" she asked me.

"No clue. He just arrived and from the looks of it, he was already like that." I told her, "Something must've happened during his visit to Asuna at the hospital."

"Do you think she may have… You know…" Suguha looked down to the ground and crossed her arms behind her back as if she were nervous, "Do you think she may have died?"

"Died?" I exclaimed at my cousin's sudden thought, "Well, I don't think so since Kazuto doesn't seem to be that sad, but something definitely happened that is related to Asuna. I think it's best to not ask him about it. Let's leave him alone for now Sugu."

"Hmm… Okay then."

 **Midnight**

I don't remember when I fell asleep, nor do I remember falling asleep on the living room floor. I must've have fallen off the couch while I was moving in my sleep. Either way, the lights were out and the house was dark, so it must be nighttime right now. However, when I heard my aunt's car approaching our house, that's when I knew that it was really late in the night and maybe even early in the morning. She doesn't get home until late at night and she leaves very early in the morning, so I'm usually the only one who sees her constantly as I'm always awake in the night.

On the other hand, our uncle or adoptive-father is even farther away from us. His job is super important and so he stays at a rented apartment next to his office building in downtown Tokyo. We only ever see him during important events such as marriages, funerals, family reunions, or birthdays, except for my own since I haven't really made up to him.

Anyways, I turned on the lights of the house and headed over to the front door. I could see my aunt walking towards the door so I hurried over to open it for her.

"Welcome home Oba-san. How was work today?" I asked her.

"Tiring as usual. I appreciate your concern for me Katsumoto-kun." She told me with a smile, "Both you and Kazuto-kun have changed after getting out of the game, in a good way of course. You especially."

My aunt took off her shoes and set her bag down on the table where she usually puts it. She slowly walked up stairs, clearly showing signs of fatigue and tiredness. I waited at the staircase and heard her enter her room and then close the door. She's most likely not going to be coming back out as she usually eats dinner out. That means that I am alone again since Kazuto and Suguha are probably asleep now. I headed over back to the couch and turned on the television. As I began searching through the channels, I noticed my phone on the floor, blinking a blue light which means that I have received a message. I went over to pick it up and saw that I got a text from Violet, or Yuzuki Ai. The text read:

 _"_ _Hey Mortifer, I forgot to tell you but it was actually my birthday yesterday! I also asked my family when we will be returning back home to Tokyo and they told me that we'll be back by April. I know that's so long! I can't wait to see you for real."_

I smiled and laughed a bit at her message. I quickly replied back, wishing her a happy birthday. Today is the twentieth of January so Violet was born on the nineteenth. She's a year and eighteen days younger than me. Not too far apart, but I don't really care anyways. I set my phone down and continued watching TV. I suddenly remembered Kazuto's mood earlier today or yesterday after he got back home from the hospital. I hope he's okay. I should probably check on him in the morning. It would be rude of me to just wake him up this late, especially if he was already in a bad mood. And so, I continued watching TV until I eventually fell asleep again.

 **Morning**

I've been woken up by many strange things or events, yet I haven't been woken up by Suguha's screams until now. I jumped once I heard her first scream and panicked so much that I fell off the couch. While I recovered, I heard her running down the hallway upstairs before she slammed a door shut. What the hell just happened to her that made her scream like a girl in a horror movie? Curious, I went upstairs and knocked on Suguha's room.

"Sugu, are you okay?" I asked her, "I heard you screaming and came to check."

"E-Everything is fine Katus-nii!" Suguha stuttered. Her voice sounded a bit muffled, as if she were talking through a pillow or something thick, "T-Thank you for asking though."

I stood in front of her door and stared at it blankly as I was a bit confused. I scratched my head and looked around me. I noticed Kazuto's bedroom was open, and so walked over to see him on his computer. He was currently searching through his inbox or something like that.

"Hey Kazuto, do you know what happened to Sugu?" I asked him.

"Oh that?" Kazuto responded as he turned to look at me then back to his computer, "Last night I was really depressed and so she comforted me. The two of us eventually fell asleep together and she got startled when I woke her up just now."

"Why were you depressed? Did something happen to Asuna?" I questioned him.

Before he could respond, Kazuto quickly stood up, pushing his chair away from the desk. He began slowly backing away from his computer and then he slowly turned to face me. His expression showed that he was shocked and surprised. I gave him a questioning look and he pointed at his computer screens. Two of his screens were blank except for one of them where a single window was open.

"T-That is…" he stuttered.

"That is what?" I asked, beginning to approach his computer.

I pulled the chair back to his desk and sat down to observe his central monitor. The current screen that was open was indeed his inbox. It was a message from Andrew Gilbert Mills, Agil's real life identity. The email's subject read _Look at this!_ In the email, there was an attached photo. It was very blurry and pixelated, so it must've been magnified or taken by a poor-quality camera. I began carefully observing the picture, which depicted some sort of birdcage in the sky. There was someone inside this birdcage, wearing white and red clothing. I magnified the picture even more and my eyes grew wide in shock. The hazel hair, the eyes and face were a perfect match from when I last saw her. The person looked identical to Asuna.

"Kazuto… Is that who I think it is?" I asked him but he didn't answer as he too was shocked at the image. The girl looks a lot like Asuna, but why is she in a cage? Furthermore, where in the world was this picture taken? "Kazuto, if you're going to go visit Agil at the Dicey Café, then I'm tagging along with you. You want to head over there now?"

"Yeah… Let's…" he quietly responded.

I hurried over to my room and got into a better set of clothes since it was very cold outside. I quickly headed down to the kitchen where I made a sandwich for myself. Before leaving, I left a note to Sugu, telling her that we would be gone for a while. Afterwards, I met up with Kazuto outside the house and we began walking towards the train station, where we would then take the train to Okachimachi.

 **An hour later, Tokyo Prefecture**

We had almost missed the train to Okachimachi. Had we miss it, we would be waiting for another hour or two before it arrives back at Kawagoe, where it would then take another hour to arrive in Okachimachi. If I had a car, we could've driven there but I think the train would still be faster. Anyways, we are now walking down the street where the Dicey Café is located. The area around us was not as nice as other places and so the street looked a bit like a huge alleyway with all of the dirt, debris and trashcans lying around. Even the Dicey Café itself did not look like an appealing place from the outside, although it is much nicer on the inside. We approached the door and opened it to see Andrew cleaning the glasses of his bar.

"Didn't expect you to get here this early. Sup' Mortifer." Andrew greeted me and so I waved back in response.

"Looks like business is bad as usual Agil." Kirito teased him.

"Shut up. It's packed in here during the night. Tell him Mortifer." Agil scoffed.

"Yeah, it gets pretty crowded in here. Plus, people don't often go to bars this early in the day Kazuto." I told him.

"Yeah, yeah whatever…" Kazuto said as he took a seat, "So, what should I know about that picture you sent me?"

"It'll take a while to explain. But first…" Agil started, "Do you know anything about this?"

Andrew walked over to the other side of the counter and reached for a white plastic bag. He grabbed it and pulled something out of it. He set it down and slit it across the countertop towards Kazuto. He caught it and we both looked at what Agil handed to us. It was a game called ALfheim Online.

"A game?" Kazuto asked Agil who nodded in response.

"It's a VRMMORPG for the AmuSphere, the NerveGear's successor. It's just like Sword Art Online."

"Alf…Heim Online." Kazuto tried pronouncing.

"I think it's pronounced Alvhame Online" I told my brother using my knowledge of Norse mythology.

"The name means _Land of Fairies_." Agil told us.

"Fairies? So, it's a casual type of game?" Kazuto questioned.

"The complete opposite actually. It's a combat game just like SAO. It features an extreme-skill system which highlights a player's skills and encourages Player-Killing. A game just for you Mortifer." Agil joked.

"Nah… Each and every time I killed someone back in SAO, a new Voice would appear in my head." I explained to him since the two of us have become friends, "Even if I'm not necessarily killing them, I'd rather not take a risk unless I absolutely have to."

"What's an extreme-skill system?" Kazuto mumbled.

"It means there is no leveling system, unlike SAO. Skills are improved by grinding them and combat depends on a player's real-life physical capabilities. Theoretically, a rookie can defeat an experienced player if their athletic ability is much higher than that of the veteran."

"Sounds pretty tough." Kazuto pointed out.

"The game doesn't have any Sword Skills, but instead replaces it with Magic. This game is insanely popular right now with VRMMORPG players." Agil informed us, "The main reason is because you can fly in-game."

"Fly?!" Both Kazuto and I exclaimed, though it didn't look like Kazuto was as excited as I was.

"The players' avatars are Fairies. Mythical creatures with wings, so they should be able to fly. There is a built-in flight engine that allows the player free-roaming flight. There's apparently a supportive controller but once you get the hang of it, you can fly by will. It's pretty hard to master if you ask me."

"Well of course." Kazuto began, "You're trying to feel wings that humans never had. They're probably controlled by using our back muscles."

"Kazuto…" I groaned since he had gone off track to what we came here for.

"Uh… So, how's a game like this related to Asuna?" Kazuto then asked. Agil pulled out a few pictures from his apron and gave it to us to look at. One of them was the same picture he sent Kazuto earlier.

"What do you think?" Agil asked him.

"Well… It looks like Asuna…" Kazuto muttered.

"I thought you would say that."

"Just hurry up and tell me. Where was this photo taken?" Kazuto snapped.

"It was taken inside the game, ALfheim Online." Agil began. He took the game case and flipped it over. He then pointed to an image of a tree on a map, "The location depicted on the picture is at this place. The World Tree Yggdrasil. Apparently, there is a giant castle at the very top of this tree. Players are divided into nine different races and can choose which one to be in. The races are Salamanders, Sylphs, Cait Siths, Spriggan, Undine, Leprechaun, Gnome, Imp and Pooka. These nine races compete to see who can reach this castle first."

"That seems like a good main quest, but can't they just fly up there?" I asked Andrew.

"Apparently there is a flight duration limit, so it's not possible to fly endlessly. The World Tree is the tallest structure in the game and its top is above and beyond the clouds. That's why five players decided to piggyback on each other and used each other as boosters to fly up as high as they can."

"A stupid yet ingenious plan at the same time." Kazuto laughed out.

"Well, they only made it to the tree's lowest branches." Agil continued, "The last person to fall did however managed to take a couple of photos, and one of them was this birdcage. When you zoom in as close as possible, you get the picture of Asuna I sent you."

"But why? Why is Asuna in a place like this?" Kazuto asked us. He held the game in his hands and began reading the back of it. "RECT Progress…"

Kazuto's face suddenly filled with rage and his hands started shaking as he increased his grip on the game case, causing it to bend a little bit.

"Damn you looked pissed… Is something wrong with RECT Progress?" I asked my brother but he didn't answer me.

"Agil, do you mind if I borrow this?" Kazuto asked him, holding up the game.

"Not at all. Are you planning to go there?"

"Yeah… I must go and see for myself. A game where you can't die in real life will be a piece of cake" Kazuto said, smiling. He then turned to face me, "This may sound a bit selfish since I know you don't really want to play VRMMORPGs right now, but will you help me out Katsumoto?"

"A game where you can fly? Count me in." I smiled, "In SAO, when I saved both you and Asuna from Heathcliff's attack, I told you that I did it so then I wouldn't see you in pain. I am willing to do the same even now. And just like you said: a game where your life isn't on the line is far too easy."

"Then that settles it. We're going to need to buy the hardware. Katsu-nii, you're going to have to buy another copy of the game." Kazuto stated as he drank the last of the tea Agil had served him earlier.

"Oh don't worry about the hardware. ALO is compatible with the NerveGear since the AmuSphere is merely a safer version of the original." Agil informed us, "You only need to buy another copy of the game."

"Good to know. Now I won't have to spend so much money." I thanked him.

"Kazuto, Katsumoto… Bring Asuna back with us to the real world. Our fight isn't over until you guys do that." Agil raised his fist and so did we.

"Right… Let's all meet up here someday, and that includes you and your guild Katsumoto." Kirito declared as we all fist bumped.

"What? You sure?" I asked him worriedly since me and my guild are infamous in SAO. Once again, Kazuto didn't give me an answer but a smile instead.

We waved Andrew good bye and exited the Dicey Café. I got out my phone to get directions to the nearest video game store and we began walking our way there. Once I get my copy of the game, the train back to Kawagoe should be leaving half an hour or so after that, so we should hurry back to the station if we don't want to miss it. Once that happens, we'll head back home.

 **Two hours later, Kirigaya Family Home**

I opened our house's gated entrance and we walked over to the main entrance. We spotted Suguha relaxing on the living room porch. She seemed to be eating a snack since she had a juice box and a tray of muffins beside her.

"We're back Sugu!" Kazuto yelled out to her as he waved. Sugu got surprised by his call and accidentally swallowed an entire muffin without barely chewing on it. She was now slightly choking on it and is trying to reach for her juice box.

"You got that covered, right Kazuto?" I asked my brother. He nodded and went over to take care of Sugu while I headed back inside to prepare myself four sandwiches.

I suspect that we are going to be playing for a long time, so that's why I'm going to stuff myself with food now so I won't be starving once I get back out. Of course, I still have to use the bathroom from time to time but at least I won't spend forever trying to do all the things I need. I prepared two extra sandwiches for Kazuto or Suguha, depending on whichever one of them takes it first, as a friendly gesture. When I finished, I hurried back to my room whilst carrying my plate of sandwiches and began devouring them on my desk. When I finished, I stood up and checked on Kazuto in his room. He was currently setting up his NerveGear and was holding the helmet in his hands, reminiscing of the past.

"Do you miss _that_ world?" I asked my brother.

"Sword Art Online?" he questioned, "A little bit… I mean, it was our first VRMMORPG so it holds a special place in our hearts and memories, even if it was a death game. I just wonder how ALfheim Online is going to be."

"Once we get Asuna back, we'll see if we should make ALO our new SAO." I told him with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so." My brother laughed back, "But, are you sure you're ready to dive back into the virtual world? What happens if we need to fight other players and Player-Kill? What about those Voices in your head?"

"Kazuto… Don't worry about me." I reassured him, "Worry about yourself and getting Asuna back. I'm only here to help you, not act like an obstacle."

"Again, you're being completely selfless…"

"I guess you can call that my sin." I told him with a smile, "Come on, let's dive. I'm excited to see how the flying works in the game."

"Ha… I'm starting to wonder if you really want to help me, or you just want to feel the joy of flying." Kazuto mumbled.

"I can do both!" I told him as I ran back to my room.

I quickly hooked up my NerveGear to the outlet on the wall and waited for it to boot up. I haven't touched this helmet for months now yet it feels like years. I still find it funny that I'm wearing the one thing that brought me to the darkness of mine and brought me all of that pain and suffering. However, I must keep my promises, even if it brings me more pain and suffering. I lied down on my bed and put the NerveGear on. I then spoke the same exact words I said two years ago before we were trapped in Sword Art Online.

"Link start!"

 **(Mortifer)**

 **Inside ALO**

After the NerveGear started up and connected to the ALfheim Online servers, my vision returned to me. I found myself inside a black cylindrical room with bright floor lights outlining the wall.

"To begin, please enter your character's gender and name." an announcer's voice stated as a virtual keyboard appeared in front of me.

I reached my hand out to type my name but hesitated for a bit. What if there are people from SAO who are playing this game right now? The moment they see my name, they will assume right away that I am _that_ Mortifer. After all, only those who witnessed my fight with Heathcliff know the truth about me and my slight innocence. Everyone else however only remember me as a dark and dangerous serial killer. Even so, I inputted the name Mortifer and selected the male gender.

"Now, please select your race of choice. Choose any one of the nine races." The announcer spoke once again.

A virtual screen of light appeared before my eyes. In front of me, right in arms' reach, were nine different symbols. Above the selection box stood a model character of that race and to my right was the race's description box. This game actually has racial classifications where in SAO, one is classified by their weapon of choice, and their interactions with guilds, meaning if they are solo or not. I scrolled through the nine races and found the Spriggan race. I found myself smiling since I could see my brother picking this race due to its default black clothing. However, I wanted to see the rest of the races and see how each of them are like.

I scrolled through all of the races: The wind-wielding Sylphs. The cat-like Cait Sith. The musical Pooka. The enormous Gnomes. The mechanical Leprachauns. The fiery Salamanders. I then stopped at the final race in the race selection menu: The Imp race. I looked at their description box and began reading it out loud.

"Living in the Alphine Areas of the Southeast, the purple-styled Imps are the masters of the night and are blessed with great night vision. Being one of the five lightweight races, Imps can run across walls should they have enough speed. Imps are also capable of flight inside dungeons but it is very limited."

Compared to the Spriggan race, I found the Imps much more fitting to my taste even if the Spriggans had default black clothing. The fact that the Imps had better stealth attributes and more useful skills than the Spriggans is the one thing that made me choose them over the Spriggans without even giving it a second thought. I selected the race and confirmed my selection.

"You will now be transferred to the Imp Capital. We wish you the best of luck." The speaker announced. If I remember correctly, the Imps and Spriggans are not too far from each other, so I won't have to travel far to get to Kirito.

The room I was in began to vanish and I felt my body go into a slow freefall before quickly speeding up moments later. My avatar glowed brightly, forcing me to cover my eyes. When I reopened them, I saw myself in a set of purple clothes and armor. My hair seems to have grown longer and is now covering part of my face. I'm not going to be happy if I have to fight while being half-blind due to this long hair of mine.

I looked down below me to see a large region of mountains which I am assuming is called the Alphines since that's what it said in the description. There were numerous tunnels that were lit up with lights since it was the nighttime. I could not see a city but I did see a giant opening in the mountain right below me. This hole in the mountain was also lit up with lights and I could see an underground city inside of it. This must be how the game introduces new players to the world, by letting them fall to their designated city. People with acrophobia may not find it pleasing, but at least they can see the beautiful landscape around them. Plus, I've lost my acrophobia after I fought with Ragnarok the Twilight Dragon back in the Cave inside of SAO.

I predicted that I would hit the ground in ten seconds when my body suddenly froze and stopped falling. My entire body was paralyzed for some reason and I began seeing lightning bolts flashing around me. There are no clouds so lightning shouldn't be occurring, unless it was done by magic of course. But then the world itself began breaking apart from the lightning and I quickly found myself in a black void. The void began pulling against me like a black hole and I closed my eyes, somewhat scared of what was going to happen to me.

A few moments later, I felt the wind rush past me once again. The moment I opened my eyes, I hit my face on a tree branch and I was sent tumbling down to the ground. I landed on my back with a loud boom. I felt no pain but my body did feel a shock and is slightly numb. I didn't lose health for some reason which I guess is good for me. When I opened my eyes again, I looked up at a beautiful night sky. The moon was shining and the stars were twinkling. The feel of the grass on my back gave me a sense of nostalgia since it felt like the grass of the Island back in SAO.

I slowly sat up and scanned my surroundings. Where is this place? When I was falling towards the Imp capital, all I could see was a bunch of mountains. I did see a forest but it was so far away that it would likely take an hour or so to get there. I don't see any big mountains either through the treetops. I stood up and brushed the dirt off of me and tried to open the game's menu. I attempted to open the menu with my right hand but it didn't work. I then switched to my left hand where it functioned properly. At least opening the menu is similar to that of SAO. All I need to do now is to get into the habit of using my left hand instead of my right.

I looked around my menu and found the one button that I have been dying to see for such a long time. The Logout button. I selected it and the system gave me a warning that my avatar will remain here for thirty minutes, making it vulnerable to attacks since I was not in the Area or an inn. Either way, I'm glad that I'm not trapped inside another virtual reality game. I'm not going to be happy if I do happen to get trapped again. I canceled my logout and searched through the rest of my player menu. I was stupefied when I opened my Stats menu, because I saw something I did not expect at all.

Thirteen different Skills were listed on my screen. Nine of them were Completed. My mind couldn't comprehend why all of these Skills were Completed but then I realized that all of the Skills listed on my screen were the ones I had in SAO. Four of them however seemed to be corrupted as they were only a bunch of question marks. Since this is a different game, I am assuming that those corrupted skills are my Extra Skills and Unique Skills. That means my Darkness Blade, Dual Blades, Martial Arts and Meditation Skills are gone. Although I am somewhat happy that I no longer have to deal with the Darkness Blade, I can no longer use meditation as means to calm down the Voices or fight effectively with two swords.

Before I could do anything else, a bright light began shining behind some nearby trees. I grew alert and quickly hid behind a few bushes whilst drawing out my sword. The sword I held in my hands was light and didn't have much reach due to its short length. Disappointing, but it is the equipment given to beginners. I creeped closer towards the bright light, moving from bush to bush. When I got close enough to get a good look, I slowly stood up and saw a person standing next to the bright light. When my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I could now see the person's physical features.

I determined him to be a Spriggan due to the clothes. His hair was spiked in different directions, much like Cloud. His ears were pointed, like a normal fairy or elf in mythology. The man was also armed. A sword just like mine was resting on a sheath strapped to the guy's back. When I looked at the person's face, it seemed oddly familiar. That's when I noticed that the person was Kirito in his fairy form. I was about to jump out of the bushes to greet him when the light got even brighter than before, forcing me to protect my eyes and look away.

While still protecting my eyes from the center of the light source, I slowly looked to see a silhouette inside the radiant light. It was a small silhouette of a person, probably a child. When the light dimmed, I managed to make out a little girl with black hair who looked oddly familiar. The girl opened her eyes and looked at my brother, who moved in closer to her and opened his arms out wide as if looking for a hug.

"Yui, it's me… Remember?" he calmly spoke. I was shocked and concentrated on the girl's face even more. It really was Yui!

"I got to see you again… Papa!" she answered back with a smile.

"Yui!"

"Papa!" Yui cried as she jumped out of the light and into my brother's arms, "Papa, Papa!"

The two of them embraced as they were finally reunited as a family. It's been two months since Kirito saved Yui from being deleted by the Cardinal back before Sword Art Online had ended. All that is left is to find Asuna and reunite with her. I stepped out of the bushes and unsheathed my sword. I then hit the hilt of it against a tree, creating a knocking sound. The two of them looked over to face me and I waved at them.

"Is that you Katsumoto?" Kirito questioned.

"Yeah, it's me." I answered.

"Hello Mortifer-san." Yui greeted, surprising both Kirito and me.

"You know who I am, even with this new avatar?" I asked her.

"Your character data is relatively the same as before although the only thing that is corrupt is your items and your Skills. I believe you were able to read the message log I left for you after I had disappeared, is that correct?"

At first I was confused about what she was talking about. Then I remembered that after Yui had disappeared, I found something in the admin console that was inside the Safe-Zone Area of the room inside that dungeon. I accidentally opened up a message log where Yui was talking to another Mental Health Counseling Program called Strea. They were talking about how they detected my negative emotions as well as talking about Cloud.

"Yes, I was able to read it." I told her.

"So you are aware that I am the one who gave you your Darkness Blade ability?" she questioned me. I nodded slightly and raised my hands to my head since the Voices started getting louder.

"Let's not talk about that, please Yui-chan?" I asked her politely. She smiled and nodded. I looked around and saw a fallen tree making a bridge across a river. I pointed to it, saying, "Let's talk over there."

We walked over to the tree bridge and sat down. Kirito placed Yui on his lap and she continued to embrace her Papa.

"So Yui, can you tell us what's going on here?" Kirito asked her but the girl seemed a bit confused, "This world we are in right now is not Sword Art Online. It's a different one from a game called ALfheim Online."

"Please hold on for a moment Papa…" Yui said as she touched her head. Her facial expression and body language made it seem like she was using some sort of psychic power, "I believe this world is a copy of Sword Art Online."

"A copy?" I asked her. I looked around to see if anything seemed familiar but nothing really looked the part. I've been to every available floor to Aincrad, and not a single one of them looked like this forest I am in.

"The main programs and graphics format are identical to SAO. However, the Cardinal system seems to be of an older version than the one used for the SAO release."

"After Argus went down, another company called RECT Progress took over the management of the SAO servers. That means RECT took advantage of the Argus technology which they had obtained and created a completely new game out of it." Kirito explained, "Also, you said something about Mortifer's character data being the same. Why did our character data, such as our Skills, remain?"  
"Let me have a look in both of your character datas." Yui said as she closed her eyes once more, "There's no doubt that these data parameters belongs to your SAO avatars. The save data format is practically the same, so the Skills you carried over from SAO has overwritten your base stats here."

"I guess you're right, but my Dual Wielding seems to be corrupted." Kirito stated.

"That's the same for me and my Darkness Blade. I think all the Extra Skills and Unique Skills we had are no longer here." I added on to Kirito's statement.

"Your items seem to be corrupted as well." Yui said. I opened up my items menu and they were indeed corrupted. A bunch of question marks replaced every single character in the list, "It would be best to get rid of your items before an error inspection program finds them. Should that happen, your other data may also get deleted."

"I see…" Kirito said. We both opened our menus and looked at our items.

All of the question marks represented all of the items I had in my inventory at the time of SAO's end. Unfortunately, all of the items I had with me at that time were my most beloved items. Two of these many question marks were my beloved twin blades given to me by Cloud and Sephiroth. The _Sword of Light_ and the _Sword of Darkness_. Do I really want to delete my last memory of Cloud even if it is a bug that can have some serious consequences? I looked over to Kirito who was also having trouble getting rid of his items. Finally, after a minute of thinking, my brother deleted his items and he looked over to me and waited.

"Are you sure I can't keep my items Yui-chan?" I asked the AI worriedly. She shook her head and made a sad face. I slumped my shoulders and deleted all my items, "Good bye Cloud…"

"So Yui… What should we do about our Skills?" Kirito questioned.

"Unless a human game-master checks your skills personally, you should be fine." Yui answered.

"I see… Forget about being a _Beater_. I'm just a cheater now, same with Mortifer." Kirito pointed out.

"So Yui, what does the system treat you as?" I asked her. She went back into psychic mode.

"It seems to treat me as an artificial personality program meant for player support. A Navigation Pixie." Yui said as she began glowing extremely bright, forcing us brothers to look away from her. When the light finally faded, I was greeted by a very tiny pixie-Yui that was as big as my hand, "This is me in my pixie form!"

Kirito's eyes widened in curiosity and began poking Yui's cheeks with his finger. Yui's head was literally just as big as the tip of Kirito's thumb.

"That tickles Papa!" Yui giggled.

"Do you have administrative authority like before?" Kirito asked.

"No. I'm capable of accessing and referencing wide-area map data." Yui replied, "Also, it seems that I can also determine attack patterns of monsters. Even the boss monsters."

"I see… Well the truth is, we might find your Mama here." Kirito told her.

"What do you mean Papa?" Yui asked him.

"Even after we cleared SAO by defeating Heathcliff, Asuna didn't seem to wake up in the real world. We were informed that there is someone who looks like Asuna here in ALfheim Online. We think she may be at that tree over there. The World Tree Yggdrasil."

Kirito pointed over in front of us where we could see a massive tree towering above the entire landscape. Its branches were far above the clouds.

"That reminds me, why did the both of us end up here in this deserted forest when we logged in?" I asked Yui, "I thought we should have been teleported to our hometown. At first I was in the right place, but then the world went crazy and then I ended up here in this forest."

"Maybe because of our location data. The 75th Floor dungeon's coordinates must be somewhere in this area, which would explain why we ended up here." Kirito theorized.

"You're not entirely wrong Papa." Yui added in, "It seems that all the coordinates on Aincrad are located fairly close to the tree, but it merely stacked on top of each other just like how the floors of Aincrad where on top of one another. Were you guys in a different location when you were being logged out?"

"Now that you mention it, we were at that floating platform overlooking Aincrad as it destroyed itself." I recalled, "Maybe that's why we are in this spot, although it didn't seem like Aincrad was that far away from us as we are from the tree right now."

"It would've been nice if we landed closer to Yggdrasil." Kirito sighed as he stood up.

When he did, a pair of black wings grew on his back, with the center of it being the symbol for the Spriggan race. I stood up as well and a pair of wings also grew on my back. Unlike Kirito's, mine is purple with the Imp symbol. Mine was also shaped and curved like bat wings while Kirito's was merely straight and slim.

"So Yui, how do we use these things?" I asked her.

"There is a support controller used for flight." Yui began explaining, "To summon it, raise your left hand and close your fingers as if you were grasping something."

Us two brothers followed the instructions of our little pixie companion. Surely enough, a small yellow controller appeared in my hand. It confused me a little bit since there was only a single button on it and nothing else.

"Pull the controller towards you to ascend and push it away to descend. Move it left or right to turn around in mid-air. Push the button and you will begin accelerating. Let go of it and you will stop. The button is pressure sensitive so don't press down too hard or you will fly away pretty fast. You can fly for as long as your wings glitter. After that, you need to let your wings rest until you can fly again."

"Sounds simple enough…" I muttered under my breath.

Kirito pulled the controller towards him and he began floating off of the ground. The sudden movement caused him to go slightly off-balance so I took more caution and slowly pulled my controller closer to me, giving me a smoother ascent. I moved my controller left and right to test out my rotational speed and then I lightly pressed the button. I began flying around and when I was comfortable with flying faster, I pushed down even harder on the button.

"This is amazing!" Kirito exclaimed.

"No kidding." I agreed with him, "Though it does mean we're going to have to fight one-handed whenever we are in the air."

"I'm fine with that. For now, can you tell us where the closest town is Yui?" Kirito asked the AI.

"There is a town to the west in Sylph territory. It's called Swilvane. Other than that, there is another town…" Yui said before she stopped to turn and looked behind us, "There are other players nearby… At least six."

"You wanna go check them out Kirito?" I asked my brother.

"We need information so let's go ahead and meet up with them. Let's see if they will help us" Kirito declared.

Yui flew around Kirito before diving into his shirt pocket, which she now rested inside of. She popped her head out of the pocket and pointed the way to the players whilst giving us a big smile.

"That way!"


	3. Chapter 2: Leafa

**A few minutes later**

"The players are right below us now." Yui stated, pointing down below us where I could see eight players. A lone player in green was surrounded by seven others in red.

"I'm not exactly getting friendly vibes from those guys. Those players in red are armed with some sort of lance and shield while wearing some pretty heavy armor." I determined.

"You're as perceptive as ever aren't you. Well it doesn't really matter to me whether they are dangerous or not. Let's just head down and ask them for help." Kirito suggested, "But uh… how do you go down again Yui?"

"Push the controller away from you." Yui explained.

"You mean like this?"

Kirito pushed the controller as far away from him as possible. I didn't even have enough time to call him an idiot before he fell straight down like a rocket. Both he and Yui screamed as he collided with multiple tree branches and crashed to the ground with a loud boom. I facepalmed myself and began a slow descent to the forest floor. I found Kirito lying on the ground, completely stunned from the sudden fall.

"Slow and steady wins the race Kirito. You could've hurt Yui there even if she was in your pocket." I teased him while trying to hold back from laughing.

"Shut up man…" he groaned, "I guess I need to practice on my landings. Though it seems like you already got the hang of flying."

Kirito stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. We then stood and looked at the players we came looking for. Seven players in red hovered off the ground, looking at us dumbfounded. The eighth player was a girl with blonde hair. She wielded a katana and seemed as if she was about to fight the seven players in red armor.

"What are you two doing out here?" The girl shouted at us, "Run!"

The seven in red tightened the grip on their weapons and one of them turned back to the girl. Even behind the helmet he wore, I could see a sense of irritation coming from the player. I guess these guys were ganging up on this one girl, and Kirito seems to think that as well.

"Seven armed-tanks fighting one girl? Man, that's just embarrassing…" Kirito insulted them.

"They must be so weak they can't even kill a slime." I said as I tried my hardest not to laugh at the stupidity happening in front of us. But when Kirito and I looked at each other, we couldn't help but to burst out laughing.

"What did you just say?" one of the red armored-players growled.

"You're out of your league newbies!" another one of them shouted.

Six of the seven players in red began moving around until they surrounded me and my brother. The girl merely watched in fear. The only thing Kirito and I did was smile. Although their armor looks menacing with the spikes and dark-red color, appearances mean nothing to me. If it takes seven of them to kill one girl, then it would be embarrassing if I lose to these people.

"Hey, I can beat them up for you, but you're going to have to do the killing. I don't really want to take any risks right now." I told my brother.

"Sure, but I don't think I need your help. After all, I'm only cleaning trash that was left on the ground." Kirito provoked them with a mischievous smile.

"Why you little!" one of the players shouted in defiance as they quickly charged at Kirito with his lance.

Right before my brother became a shish-kebab, he grabbed the tip of the lance and caught it with one hand. He held the lance frozen in front of him despite the guy struggling to use his wings to push the lance towards Kirito. My brother effortlessly pushed the lance away whilst sending the guy flying backwards into his other friends. The other five players became infuriated after seeing one of their comrades be tossed around like a ragdoll.

"Is it okay if we handle these guys?" Kirito asked the girl.

"S-Sure… Why not? It's not like they were going to let us keep our lives anyway." The girl stuttered.

"I'll beat up three of them for you. You can do all the cleaning I guess." I told my brother.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Kirito muttered as he unsheathed his sword and charged towards the player who originally attacked him.

Two players went to their comrade's aide while the other three circled around me, carefully observing me. I unsheathed my sword and looked at the players. I then looked at my sword and began laughing.

"Do I even need this thing?" I laughed uncontrollably as I threw the sword on the ground nearby, "Well it's more fun this way anyway!"

"You can't fight them without your sword! That's suicide!" the girl shouted at me.

"Imōto-san… If we become friends, there is one thing you will need to learn from me." I said as I turned to face her. Despite my serious tone and statement, I gave her a warm and friendly smile, "Whether it is here or in the real world, I don't give a damn if I die."

I jumped high in the air, aiming for the shield of one of the lancers. I grabbed it and used my strength to throw him to the ground. I landed right on top of him and prepared to counter his two friends who also came charging right at me. They attempted to kill me with their lances, but just like Kirito, I simply held the lances in place. The lance was not as slippery as I thought it would be, so I used that to my advantage and spun them around me, forcing them to let go of it. I then jumped off the person I was on and pierced the two lances I had into the ground next to him. I then took the lance of the player I had thrown to the ground and also pierced it into the ground. All three players recovered and they all tried to recover their weapons. However, I grabbed one of their shields and clotheslined all three of them simultaneously. When all three on the ground, I took their lances and pierced their arms into the ground, leaving them for Kirito to finish off.

"Oi, Kirito. You can finish them off now." I called for him. I turned and saw my brother pretending to sleep next to a tree. He pretended to wake up looking startled and drowsy.

"What? What? Oh you're finally done… That took a while." He yawned.

"Shut up." I laughed out.

My brother walked over to the three players, unsheathed his sword, and quickly dispatched them. We then turned to the seventh player in red, who had chosen not to fight us. His armor looked different from the others so this guy must be their captain or just someone who wears different armor.

"Are you going to fight us too?" Kirito asked him.

"I think I'll pass. I'm about to get my Magic skill to nine-hundred, so I'd rather avoid the death penalty." The man backed down.

"Honest guy, I like that… What about you Nee-san?" Kirito asked the girl. The blonde-haired girl in green lowered her guard and raised her hands to stop my brother.

"I'll pass too." The girl answered but she then looked at the guy in red, "Next time though, I'll be sure to settle the score between us."

"In all honesty, I don't want to face you one-on-one either, so I'll bring more people along with me the next time we do happen to meet." The man said as he flew off into the night sky.

Now it was only me, Kirito and this girl. Even though that's what it seems like, there were six red flames burning nearby us. Based on their locations, they seemed to be located where those players had died.

"Hey, what are these flames?" Kirito asked the girl, who held a finger to her mouth.

"Shh… Those are Remain Lights." She whispered, "When a player dies, there is a period where they remain in that state. Unless they get revived via magic or item, they will remain in that state until their timers tick zero. They can't do anything but they are still wary of their surroundings."

Kirito and I became silent due to the information the girl gave us. Half a minute or so passed by before the flames began disappearing one-by-one. When the last flame burned out, we all relaxed.

"Hmm… So what should I do now? Thank you? Run away?" The girl asked, but then she raised her sword and got into a fighting stance, "Or maybe I should fight both of you…"

I almost began laughing out but held it in. She says that even after watching six people get beaten so easily by us? She has guts. That's all I have to say about her.

"Well, I was expecting more of a _knight saves the princess_ kind of response. In this case however, we have two knights who saved the damsel in distress." Kirito mused, "You know, like you run into our arms crying tears of relief for saving you."

"Are you and idiot?" the girl scolded at Kirito.

"I was only jesting." Kirito laughed out. He and I were both laughing but the girl seemed pretty pissed off about the joke.

"That's right! You can't do that! It is unacceptable" a voice sounded from Kirito but he was still laughing which means it wasn't him. Yui, who had been silent up until now, popped out of Kirito's shirt pocket.

"Hey! I told you not to come out!" Kirito exclaimed but his virtual daughter disobeyed. He tried grabbing for Yui but she kept dodging his attempts.

"Mama and I are the only ones who can hug Papa!" Yui declared, "Although Mortifer-san may also hug him as well."

"Thanks, Yui-chan." I smiled at her.

"Papa?!" The girl in green exclaimed. She began approaching Kirito.

"Oh well uh, you see here… uh…" Kirito stuttered as he finally caught Yui in his hands and held her there.

"Is that one of those Private Pixies?" the girl asked him.

"Y-Yeah… Something like that." Kirito nervously answered.

"Fine then… But what is a Spriggan and an Imp doing at some place like this? She asked us. I looked at Kirito for answers.

"W-We're a bit lost…" Kirito stammered. The girl looked at us dumbfounded and began laughing. I looked at Kirito who only shrugged.

"A bit lost? Both of your territories are way in the east!" The girl exclaimed, "How can you be _that_ lost?! You two are so weird."

After a lot of laughter, the girl finally stopped and sheathed her sword. She cleared her throat and stood up straight.

"I suppose I should show you my gratitude for saving me. My name is Leafa. It's nice to meet you."

"My name is Kirito, and this is Mortifer, my brother. This girl here is Yui-chan." He introduced us. I bowed towards Leafa and Yui did the same.

"Say Kirito-kun, Mortifer-san… What are you planning on doing now?" Leafa asked us, "If you guys are interested, I can treat you guys to a drink as thanks for saving me. How about it?"

"I'm in." I quickly accepted her offer.

"That sounds nice!" Kirito also agreed, "We were also looking for someone who can help us answer a few questions."

"Questions like what?" Leafa wondered.

"Things about this world… And that tree." Kirito told her as he pointed towards the tree which towered above all.

"Oh, that tree?" Leafa mused, "Sure. I may not seem like it, but I've been playing this game for a long time now. I think you can classify me as a veteran. It's a bit far but there's a neutral village north of here. Let's fly over there!"

"But, isn't there a town called Swilvane west of here? According to Yui, that town is much closer." Kirito responded.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" she questioned us.

"We joined the game today. In fact, we've been playing for less than an hour now I believe." I explained to Leafa.

"Swilvane is Sylph territory. In a race's territory, the race that owns the land can attack you, but you cannot fight back against them."

"It's not like they're all going to attack me on sight, right?" Kirito stated, "And we have you with us Leafa-chan."

I faintly saw a hint of blush in Leafa's cheeks.

"Just call me Leafa. If you really want me to guide you guys there, I don't mind. Though I can't guarantee your safety."

"That's fine with us." Kirito answered.

"Alright, let's go then!"

Wings appeared on Leafa's back and she began ascending into her air. What surprised both me and Kirito however, was the fact that she held no controller in her hands. She was flying by manually.

"Wait, Leafa. You don't need to use a support controller for flight?" Kirito quickly asked her before she got too far off the ground.

"No I don't. What about you two?"

"We just got the hang of flying a little while ago, so…"

"Well, flying without one is a bit tricky." Leafa began explaining as she descended back down to the ground, "Turn around and summon your wings, but don't take out your support controller."

We did as we were told and we summoned our wings. She then began touching a spot behind our backs where the wings seemingly protruded from.

"You feel this spot where I am touching you guys? Imagine there are virtual bones and muscles spreading out from here. Try to move them. It's a little bit hard at first but it gets easier with experience."

I did what I was told to do and attempted to move this virtual body parts. It was hard at first but then I managed to find exactly what I was looking for. My wings began beating and so I made those movements even bigger, causing my body to rise off the ground.

"Looks like Mortifer-san has gotten the hang of it pretty quickly." Leafa stated.

"Come on Kirito. I came here to help you out, so it would be embarrassing if you're the guy who is holding us back." I teased my brother. His wings started moving even faster and Leafa pushed him forward, causing Kirito to skyrocket upwards through a whole thicket of trees. Yui managed to avoid Kirito's ascent and is now resting on my shoulders. We then heard a loud bang as if he crashed into something with great force.

"Oh no!" Leafa exclaimed. The three of us flew up above the tree line to see what had happened to Kirito. We looked around but couldn't see him, "Kirito-kun! Are you okay?!"

"Make it stop!" Kirito's voice screamed behind us.

We turned around and saw him flying uncontrollably. He flew backwards, in loops, in circles, and even while upside down. The three of us couldn't help but laugh at how stupid Kirito looked right now.

"I'm sorry Papa!" Yui exclaimed, "But that's just far too funny!"

Our laughing sounded through the night, scaring a flock of birds that were trying to sleep nearby. When I finally managed to control myself, I looked around us. Although the landscape would most likely look more beautiful in the daytime, the view was still stunning. It reminded me of old open-world fantasy games and even some of the floors in SAO. After some time, my brother finally got the hang of flying and is now flying with stability.

"This is amazing!" Kirito gleefully shouted.

"I know, right?!" Leafa exclaimed as she too started flying around freely, "It seems you guys have good instincts to learn so quickly, especially you Mortifer-san. Now follow me, I'll lead you guys to Swilvane. We can take it slow at first."

Kirito and I followed the Sylph girl who flew ahead of us in a rather slow pace. I wanted to tell her to go a bit faster but Kirito beat me to it.

"Feel free to pick up the pace Leafa." My brother told her. Leafa then gave us a rather mischievous looking grin and flew off way ahead of us.

Kirito, wanting to catch up with her, flew even faster, tucking his wings in even more so than before and caught up with her. The two of them looked back at me and waved me to come over. I was about to speed up when I suddenly remembered something. The speed bug I had in back in Sword Art Online… If the system is similar to that of SAO's, could my speed still be bugged? And if so, would my wings die out even quicker? There's really only one way to find out but I think that my speed bug would most likely be patched by now. The moment I forced myself to go my fastest, I realized that I was completely wrong.

Everything flew past me in a blur. My face felt like it was peeling off. It reminded me of the time I first saved Violet back near the beginning of Sword Art Online, except I am now moving almost five times faster than I did in SAO. I had to stop a few seconds later because the moment I looked behind me, I could barely see Kirito and Leafa. They looked like two tiny dots against the dark night since they were so far away. I stopped to hover in place and let them catch up with me.

"How in the world did you fly so fast?!" Leafa exclaimed, "I was surprised enough that Kirito can easily match my speed, but you on the other hand… Your maximum speed exceeds mine even though Sylphs are naturally the fastest of all the fairies."

"Mortifer has a knack for doing the impossible, and breaking the laws of VRMMORPG games that he plays." Kirito laughed out. He looked ahead of us and his eyes opened wide with delight. He then pointed ahead, "Oh! Is that Swilvane?!"

We all looked in front of us. In the distance, I could see tall spires trying to reach for the sky, and green lights illuminating them. The three of us ascended a bit higher to get a better view and we were now able to see the majority of the beautiful Sylph city. A mix of green and yellow lights illuminated the entire city. Nine colossal spires towered over the landscape just like the World Tree, but they are nowhere near the tree's size. The tallest of the towers, which was located at the center of the city, had a flat top unlike its spiked siblings. When I looked down, I could see hordes of people moving below us. I guess the Sylph race is pretty popular.

"This city is Swilvane, the capital city of the Sylph territory and the place where all beginner Sylphs first spawn." Leafa told us, "We will land at the base of the central tower. You guys do know how to land right?"

She looked at us with a questioning look. I gave her a nod, telling her that I knew how to land, or at least have an idea of how to descend without using the controller. The smile Leafa had for knowing I could land disappeared when we looked at my brother. Kirito merely looked straight ahead with a worried expression.

"No…" Kirito squeaked in a quiet but high voice.

"Um… uh…" Leafa began stuttering until she noticed that the main spire is right in front of us, "Sorry! It's a bit too late to teach you now! I wish you luck!"

"You're kidding me!" Kirito screamed as he headed straight for the giant spire.

While Leafa and I slowly descended, Kirito smashed right into the wall of the spire, creating a loud boom which sounded throughout the whole town, scaring away all the resting birds. When I looked up, I saw a huge dust cloud where Kirito crashed. His motionless body appeared from the dust and fell all the way down to the ground, creating even more dust clouds and loud rumbling. Leafa winced at the sight of Kirito's impact and so did Yui, who managed to escape out of Kirito's pocket and is now resting on my shoulders. We quickly descended and touched down. We then headed to my immobilized brother.

"That was cruel of you Leafa…" Kirito groaned. His health bar is currently half empty.

"Sorry Kirito-kun." Leafa apologized, "Don't you worry. I'll heel you up using Magic."

Leafa held out her hand, pointing at Kirito and began reciting an incantation of a language I've never seen or heard of. It must be some made up language used for magic in this game. A handful of glowing words appeared in front of Leafa as she spoke the incantation. At the end of it, the words glowed brightly and disappeared. At the same time, light and glitter shimmered off Kirito's body. His health bar gradually recovered as the light and glitter faded, until he was back to full health again.

"So this is Magic…" Kirito said in awe.

"You can't use high level healing Magic unless you are an Undine." Leafa explained, "But the one I used is an essential spell so you should learn it if you want to survive in this game as a swordsman."

"So, there are race-specific bonuses?" Kirito asked, making my face palm myself whilst laughing.

"Were you in that of a hurry?!" I marveled, "Either way, I just knew you would choose the Spriggan race all because of the black clothes."

"Yes, I was in that of a hurry." Kirito answered while sitting up, "So, if Undines are good with healing, and Sylphs in flying speed, what are Spriggans good at?"

"If I recall, Spriggans excel in treasure hunting and illusion magic, both of which are useless in combat." Leafa stated.

"Huh… Well that's too bad." Kirito sighed as he stood back up. He stretched his arms whilst looking around, "So, this is the Sylph town Swilvane. It's a pretty place if you ask me."

"Right?!" Leafa exclaimed as she too began admiring the city. That's when we suddenly heard a voice.

"Leafa-chan!" I heard a kiddy voice call out to our acquaintance. We turned around to see a Sylph boy running to us, "You're okay! I;m so glad!"

"Oh Recon." Leafa greeted the boy.

"I just knew you'd make it back here Leafa-chan…" he wheezed. He then turned to face both me and Kirito, "What! A Spriggan and an Imp?!"

The Sylph boy jumped back in shock and unsheathed a rather small, and very dull dagger. It seemed more like a butter knife than an actual weapon. I began chuckling because I couldn't help myself after seeing that ridiculous weapon of his.

"Oh, don't mind them Recon. They saved me from dying to the Salamanders." Leafa explained to Recon. The boy seemed surprised and sheathed his dagger. He then gave out a nervous smile and greeted us.

"H-Hi there, my name is Recon."

"Hi. I'm Kirito." Kirito said while shaking hands with Recon.

"Sup'. My name's Mortifer." I also greeted him.

"Oh, nice to meet you guys…" Recon said before his voice faltered. After shaking Kirito's hand, Recon backed away once again and put his hand on his dagger, "No! No, no, no! This isn't right! Are you sure about this Leafa-chan? They could be spies or something like that."

"You don't need to worry so much Recon. They're new to this game. And even if Kirito was trying to hide it, he's too much of an airhead to be a spy." Leafa teased my brother, "The Imp on the other could very well be one but they are brothers so I trust him."

"Hey that's mean…" Kirito whimpered. When Recon looked at me, I just shrugged my shoulders and he let go of his dagger.

"Well anyways, Sigurd and the others have saved you a seat at the usual bar." Recon informed Leafa.

"Oh, I see…" Leafa spoke, "But, I think I'll pass for today. I promised Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san a drink."

"What?!" Recon protested.

"Sorry Recon. I'll see you around." Leafa apologized as she grabbed both mine and Kirito's arms and forcefully dragged us away from the boy.

"Leafa-chan…" Recon cried out as he was left all alone.

After being dragged for some distance, Leafa let go of our arms and we walked into a bar. We took a seat at one of the tables where an NPC walked over to take our orders. Leafa got all of us the same drink, which is some popular drink that you could only find in the area. We received our orders and began talking.

"So Leafa… Is that kid your boyfriend?" I asked her with a teasing smile.

"Is he your lover?" Yui also joined in. Leafa's face flushed red with embarrassment.

"Huh?! N-No way!" she exclaimed, "He's just someone I was partied with."

"You two seem pretty close though." Kirito pointed out.

"He's a real-life friend. He's in the same grade as me in school, but that's it! Nothing else."

"Hmm… Sure." I teased her even more, making her slightly angry.

"Moving on… Thanks for saving me." Leafa said as she raised her glass up for toast. We clinked our drinks together and drank in unison.

"Hey, those red-armored guys we beat up earlier… They were really aggressive." I mentioned.

"Yeah. Are PK-group hunts like that one common?" Kirito asked her.

"Well, Salamanders and Sylphs have a bad relationship to begin with. It's rare to see two people of those races together unless they are a couple in the real life." Leafa stated, "But organized PK groups like the one we encountered have only started to occur recently. I'm pretty sure they are doing that to obtain more resources so they can try raiding the World Tree soon."

"Speaking of the World Tree… I'd like for you to tell me everything you know about it. Yggdrasil." My brother asked her.

"Yes. I recall you mentioning that earlier, but why?"

I want to get to the top of it." Kirito declared.

"Well, I think that goes for every player… After all, it is ALfheim Online's Grand Quest."

"What do you mean by, Grand Quest?"

"You know how there is a flight duration limit right?" Leafa asked us. We both nodded, "No matter which race you are, ten minutes is the limit for continuous flight. However, it is rumored that the first race to reach the Floating City above Yggdrasil and have an audience with the _Fairy King Oberon_ can be reborn into the ultimate race. The Alves. If you are an Alf, you have unlimited flight, meaning you can fly anytime you want to."

"That would be amazing to have." I mused as I took a sip of my drink.

"So, can someone get to the top of Yggdrasil?" Kirito asked.

"At the base of the tree, there is a large dome." Leafa began explaining, "You can reach the Floating City from there, but the NPCs guarding the dome are unbelievably strong and almost overpowered. Do you guys think it makes sense for there to be one quest that nobody has ever completed even after a year of the game's release."

"Well then that must mean either a key quest was overlooked or it's just impossible without the help of another race." Kirito suggested.

"You have good intuition. Everyone is checking to see if there is a missing quest that needs to be completed. So far, nobody has found anything. On the other hand, if it requires the aid of another race, we can all just forget it." Leafa sighed as she drank from her glass.

"Give up?" Kirito said, bewildered, "Why?!"

"God, weren't you listening?" I grunted, "She just said that there can only be one race that can have an audience with the _Fairy King Oberon_. It would be a paradox. Who, in their right mind, would cooperate with another race to clear a quest only given to one, and only one race? Although you help each other get to the top, whoever gets an audience first is the ultimate winner."

"So, in other words, it's pretty much impossible to get to the top of the World Tree?" Kirito murmured.

"That's what I think, as well as many other players in this game." Leafa sighed, "But it's hard to give up on it once you get a taste of how thrilling flying can be. Even if it takes years of farmi-"

"That's too long!" Kirito interrupted, raising his voice to a shout and simultaneously hitting the table. It caught me completely off guard, making me spill my drink all over me since I was drinking when he did so.

"Dude really?!" I complained as I got up to obtain a few napkins. Yui, who was eating a cookie on my shoulder, flew up to Kirito's and touched his face.

"Papa?" she asked my brother worriedly, making Kirito calm down.

"Sorry, but I just have to get to the top of the World Tree Yggdrasil." Kirito told her.

"Why is that?" Leafa asked. Before Kirito could talk, I decided to take over.

"We are looking for someone important to him. Someone that he can't reach in the real world. We obtained information that the girl is trapped here, in this game. According to our friend, she is located at the top of the World Tree and so that is why we are heading over there as soon as possible."

While I dried myself, I saw a hint of empathy in Leafa's face. When I finished drying myself, I finished what was left of my drink and looked at Kirito, who had calmed down, somewhat. He stood up out of his chair and faced Leafa.

"Thank you Leafa. The information you've given us will most definitely help us on our journey to the tree." Kirito declared. He took one last sip of his drink and headed for the exit. I began following him until Leafa went up and grabbed Kirito by his arm.

"Are you leaving for Yggdrasil now?" Leafa asked, looking at the ground with empathy rather than Kirito.

"Yes. I have to go see for myself." Kirito declared as he removed Leafa's hand from his arm and continued walking. I simply stood still, watching idly.

"That's completely reckless!" Leafa cried out, "It's… It's really far away and there are a ton of strong monsters that will be blocking your path. I know you guys are strong but… but…"

Leafa's voice faltered as she began thinking up of new words to say. I looked back to Kirito who was right next to the door. I looked at Yui who rested on my right shoulder. She held a worried expression on her face. Since she was previously an MHCP, I'm confident that she can read the gloomy atmosphere of the room. Although I understand Kirito wanting to save Asuna as soon as possible, it also didn't feel right to just leave this Sylph girl behind.

"F-Fine!" Leafa shouted at Kirito, who was opening the exit door. My brother turned around to look at the Sylph girl, "I'll take you there then!"

"I can't just ask someone I just met to go with me for something like this. I have Mortifer with me anyway." Kirito declined.

"Do you know how to get to Yggdrasil?" she asked Kirito, whose face filled with worry.

"I do." I told her whilst raising my hand, "I did some research before going into the game and apparently, there is a pass northeast from he-"

I wasn't able to finish my statement because Leafa walked up and punched me in the gut. I dropped to my knees, wheezing. Yui flew down to the ground to see if I was alright. I guess Leafa doesn't want to hear the answer I was about to give her.

"Not cool…" I wheezed out as I clutched my stomach.

"How do you plan on getting past the guardians inside the tree's dome?" Leafa interrogated him.

"We'll figure it out somehow." Kirito responded nervously.

"It's fine. I've already made up my mind. I'm going with you guys."

"O-Okay then…" Kirito murmured as he scratched his head in confusion.

"Can you uh… Can you guys log in tomorrow?" Leafa stammered out.

"Yeah. Sure."

"I'll reconsider if you promise not to punch me again…" I gasped.

Okay then. We will meet back here at three o' clock." She declared, "I'll be going now. You guys should use a room upstairs to log out."

Before Leafa logged out, Kirito interrupted here.

"Leafa wait!" Kirito cried. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Kirito, who then gave her a smile, "Thank you."

I saw a hint of red in Leafa's cheeks but they quickly faded away. Instead of answering, the girl smiled back at Kirito and logged off. Her body flashed brightly and broke down into pixels, reminding me of the death animation but much slower and more lively. The three of us, including Yui, were now left alone in the bar. The only other people inside were the NPC bartenders.

"Why is she only nice to you?" I asked my brother as I finally recovered from her punch.

He shrugged his shoulders and rented out two rooms for the two of us. Yui and Kirito went into one room while I went into the other. I laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering how this new journey of ours will unfold. I closed my eyes and let the system log me out as I eventually went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

**(Katsumoto)**

 **The next day, Real World**

It was already twelve o' clock when I woke up from bed earlier which surprised me since I rarely get up this late. At that time, I had to ask myself when I slept last night. Unfortunately, I remembered not checking the clock, therefore I did not know how late it was when I did finally fall asleep. On the other hand, Kazuto was already fully awake by the time I went down for breakfast. In fact, he was already having lunch by the time I ate breakfast. Suguha had to go to kendo practice earlier this morning but she has returned now.

Knowing full well the consequences of overeating like I'm doing right now, I stuffed my face with a dozen sandwiches. Each one of them had a different combination of ingredients so I could balance out my diet. My rehab forced me to eat fruits and vegetables daily and now, I've found ways to implement them into my normal diet of sandwiches. It's been working so far, but eating so much at once can still lead to consequences. At least I don't have to worry about getting fat since my metabolism is abnormally high.

Moving on from the food topic, it is two-thirty and Leafa told us to meet up with her at the bar around three o' clock. Since I still had half an hour left, I got on my computer and began searching through the web. Although Leafa will guide us, I want to know more about this world we are about to dive into. I went to the current most visited net gaming website, called the MMO Today. This website is actually run by Thinker, the same person whom Kazuto and Asuna saved back in the 1st Floor. During one of my trips to the Dicey Café, I coincidentally met with Thinker whilst talking to Agil. Thinker is one in only a handful of people from SAO who know my true story and has forgiven me. Anyways, I found the section on his site which talked about ALfheim Online.

Thinking back to what Leafa told us yesterday about race territories, I began searching up information on the rules a player has to abide by if they happen to be in land that does not belong to them. I began reading an article, and just like what Leafa had told us yesterday, a player who is not a Sylph cannot hurt a Sylph inside territory owned by that race. This rule applies to all races and is universally known to most players who have played the game for a while. However, as I kept reading, there was apparently a small loophole in the rule. While someone cannot get hurt and die in their own territory by another race, they can still be beat up or attacked by the player of a different race. Safe Zone Areas are also somewhat non-existent as anybody can die anywhere. The only real Safe Zone Areas are the bedrooms of inns where people sleep in. This information would definitely be useful to me but I need more.

I searched the different races and found a page that listed all of the things one needs to know about certain race. Race bonuses, color scheme, location of their capital, popularity, relationship to other races as well as famous names of players and which race they have chosen. I found out that the Salamanders are the most popular race with the 2nd most popular being the Sylphs. The gap between number of players is so small however, one can consider them basically equal. The article mentioned that there is a resentful and somewhat vindictive relationship between the Sylphs and the Salamanders. Apparently, the Salamanders assassinated the first Sylph lord and humiliated all Sylph players, causing the Sylphs to seek revenge on them. This feud has been lasting for quite some time now and is slightly getting out of hand.

I looked at the clock and again and noticed that it was almost time for me to dive into ALO. I closed out of everything on my computer and logged off. I cleaned up my desk from the mess I made whilst eating the sandwiches and went back downstairs to get myself a glass of water which I chugged down almost instantly. I headed back to my room and let my NerveGear boot up while I dressed into more comfortable clothes. Afterwards, I lied down in bed and put the NerveGear on. Here goes another day of virtual reality.

"Link, start!"

 **(Mortifer)**

 **Inside ALO,** **Swilvane** **Inn**

I found myself spawning into the bar of the inn rather than the room which I had rented and logged out from. I looked around and noticed that Kirito and Leafa were already here. The two of them waved at me and I waved back while I headed towards them.

"Onii, we're going to head out to the market and do some shopping." Kirito told me, "Our current gear won't be useful as we head closer to the World Tree since monsters will only get stronger."

"That's fine with me. I don't like this sword anyway." I complained as I pulled out and showed them my rather short sword.

"How much money do you guys have?" Leafa asked us. Kirito and I both opened our inventories and checked our current balances. However, when I saw the number on my screen, I thought I was hallucinating.

"Uh Leafa… Is this Yrd stuff the currency of the game?" Kirito asked as he too had the same problem as mine.

"Yup."

I looked at my inventory once again and then looked at Kirito's. His numbers were like mine but I had a few more digits. Even so, I am still in disbelief. I sat down on a chair and began counting the number of zeroes I had in my balance. Three… Six… Nine… Twelve… No, no, no. It can't be that high… I repeatedly counted the number of zeroes I had in my balance but I always ended up with twelve zeroes. I remember taking in a large sum of money from the guild's treasury when I left to go power-level by myself back in SAO, but it seems to me that a single Cor from SAO is worth quite a lot here in ALO. Well, I have yet to see the market prices for things in this game so maybe the amount of money I have is not as high as I think it is.

"Hey Leafa, how much does a weapon like yours typically cost in this game?" I asked her so I could clear my doubts.

"My weapon is custom-made by the best Sylph blacksmith so it doesn't really have a market price." Leafa told me, "However, the materials it is made of probably makes it so the weapon costs a hundred-thousand Yrd."

"A hundred-thousand?" Kirito questioned as he once again looked back at his current balance.

"Yeah, a hundred-thousand. Is there something wrong?" Leafa asked us but we were simply too shocked to answer.

I could tell Leafa's blade is of good quality since I have seen katanas in the real world. It seems the ones in here look just like the ones in the real world. If I can buy more than a million of Leafa's katana, I'm confident I could very well buy everything in this game without worrying. I may very well be the richest person in this game right now since I have one and a half Tera Yrd. Kirito looked at mine once again and shrugged his shoulders. He closed his menu and pulled on his shirt pocket.

"Hey, we're going now Yui." Kirito called out to her. The small pixie popped out of his pocket, just now waking up.

"Okay…" Yui yawned as she stretched her arms.

The three of us stood up from our seats and exited the inn. Leafa guided us to the market district of Swilvane and we passed by multiple shops, each having different vendors that sold different things. From time to time, the local Sylphs who lived in the city would eyeball us. Some would even make disgusted faces which I decided to take note of. It seems that this world has its own form of racism like the real world does. Well, even if they do not want us here, a game is a game and you can do anything you want in it. They can disregard us and we can disregard them. It's not like I cared about them in the first place.

We continued walking around the market and ignoring the contempt faces of the Sylphs. Leafa led us to the weapons shop and we began searching looking at the different items it was selling.

"Is there any other shop with better quality items?" I asked her.

"Yeah, that one over there." Leafa said, pointing towards a shop a few stands away from us, "But the prices of that shop are absurd. The items you would find there would cost way less if you buy it from some other place that isn't Swilvane. The locals believe it is a bug in the game and so we've constantly reported it to the GMs. They said they will fix it the next time the servers go on maintenance."

"Okay, whatever." I said as both Kirito and I headed to the other stall, causing Leafa to give us questioning looks. I heard her sigh behind me and continued walking.

The items were indeed of much better quality and the prices really were absurd compared to the previous vendor. However, the total prices of all the items in this shop is nothing compared to my total sum of money. I began scrutinizing each and every piece of armor, quickly calculating the cost efficiency of each item and comparing them to the others. I found and bought the armor which had the best average stats compared to all other pieces of armor in the shop. It was a leather tunic with some sort of metal band going around my stomach. I equipped the tunic the try it out. While I was mostly comfortable with it, every time I would bend over, the metal plate would work against me, preventing me from bending too much or crouching down without being slightly uncomfortable.

I then moved onto my weapon. Once again, I chose the most cost efficient and effective item on the list. A one-handed black sword with decent _ATK_ and _SPD_ stats. Fortunately, Blade Throwing still exists in this game, but there are no Sword Skills I can perform with them since they are non-existent in this game. Even so, I bought myself at least twenty throwing picks and knives should I ever find myself in a situation where I would need them. When I looked at my balance one again, I smiled a bit since it didn't even change despite buying all of those ridiculously overpriced items. Our shopping act however did make us receive a few stares of either hatred or confusion.

I was about to finish up when I caught something on the corner of my eye. At the farthest corner of the shop, which was hidden by the numerous amounts of expensive clothes and weapons in it, there was a black cloak, silently hanging there. Just from comparing its size to other items next to it, I could tell it was exactly my size.

"Don't mind if I do." I said out loud as I smiled to myself and asked the vendor for the cloak.

Unlike all pieces of clothing Violet makes for us in the guild, this cloak was of poor quality and gave no benefits whatsoever, not even stealth benefits which is usually a standard in most dark-colored cloaks like this one. But since this isn't really a shop for high-quality items that I am looking for, I let it slide. I rejoined Kirito, who has also finished his shopping. He bought a coat very similar to the one before SAO ended, and an absurdly large black sword that was literally the size of his upper body.

"Dude, what's with that sword?!" I laughed out. Leafa and Yui, who were next to Kirito, also couldn't hold their laughter in.

"Oh this? Well, all of the swords were too light for me, so I went to find the heaviest one." Kirito explained to me.

"I'm pretty sure that sword is meant for the Gnome race. You know, the biggest of the fairies in this game" I told him.

"You seem to know a lot Mortifer-san. Did you do some research before going into the game?"

"Yeah a bit." I admitted to the Sylph, "Also, you can just call me Mortifer if you want. But if you want to keep the san then go ahead."

"I'll stick with san. I feel more comfortable with it in your name." Leafa said with a smile.

And with that, we made our way to the tallest of the pillars located at the exact center of Swilvane. We passed by more people who gave us looks and we ignored all of them. From time to time, a player dressed in regal, high quality armor would pass by us and give me looks, but upon seeing Leafa, they would bow to her.

"It seems you have a reputation amongst your kind." I whispered to her so nobody else would hear.

"I am friends with Sakuya, the current Sylph lord. I also forgot to mention that I am one of the best fighters the Sylphs have." Leafa bragged sassily, "There are fighting tournaments held here in Swilvane to see who is the best Sylph amongst us. I've won a couple of the tournaments myself. People also consider me one of the five fastest Sylphs in this game. And with Sylphs being the fastest fairies, it really means I'm one of the fastest in this entire game."

"Well, it didn't seem like it since I had to look back for me to find you yesterday." I teased her, "You were so far behind me, I thought you couldn't even fly properly."

Leafa's cheerful smile disappeared right away and she moved over to punch me in the gut. I already saw it coming and moved Kirito in from of me as a joke. Leafa's eyes widened as she tried to stop her charge but she was already too close to Kirito and she couldn't react fast enough. She punched Kirito right on his stomach, causing my brother to drop to the ground and start gasping for air. My brother's health bar dropped a tiny bit from the attack.

"I'm sorry Kirito-kun! That was meant for Mortifer-san, but he moved you to block the punch and I couldn't stop myself fast enough." Leafa cried out in apology.

"Onii-chan… Just… Stop it already." Kirito wheezed

"Okay fine, I'll keep my mouth shut." I sighed.

After Kirito recovered his breath and his loss of HP, we continued onto the tower. Leafa informed us that we are going to start at the top of it so we can get extra altitude without wasting our wings flight duration. A technique people use is to apparently let yourself glide for most of the way and only use your wings when you drop too low or when you come into combat with aerial monsters. Since our avatars in the game are super lightweight, it works out well for us. Upon entering the tower, I discovered more mini-shops inside though none of them offered weapons, only food, resources and other goods. Before we could head up the staircase to climb to the top however, we heard a voice call out for us.

"Leafa!"

We turned around and saw three Sylphs approaching us. Two of them had helmets that covered their faces while one wore some sort of crown with a red jewel on the center of it. The guy with the crown did not look like he came here for a friendly chat.

"Afternoon Sigurd." Leafa greeted him.

"Are you leaving the party Leafa?"

"Yes I am."

"Did it not occur to you that leaving will be an inconvenience for the party?" Sigurd asked her. Leafa put her hands on her hips, annoyed.

"I believe that it was my choice to participate in the party or not. Not yours Sigurd. We agreed on that, remember?" Leafa grunted, frowning upon Sigurd.

"I am aware of the agreement we made, but since it is well-known that you are a member of our party, leaving so suddenly without good reason will make us look bad."

The atmosphere of the room became intense. A couple of people has noticed us and are now spectating the argument. However, I didn't care much about them. Not as much as I did with this Sigurd guy. What's with this guy? Does he love being praised by people or something? I've had experience with it from people in school and even from Zed, but not even they would care this much.

"Your comrades aren't items you know." Kirito uttered to him. He walked over to Sigurd, who was slightly provoked. Under my cloak, I moved my hand to my sheathed sword, preparing myself should the situation become any worse.

"What did you say you little brat?" Sigurd growled at my brother. Kirito fearlessly stepped between Leafa and Sigurd.

"I'm saying that you can't treat other players as items. You can't just equip them on yourself whenever you want, and you can't keep them forever either. Nobody would want their best armor or sword to break, so they would put it away and get it repaired. That should be the same thing for party members. They should be able to leave anytime they want to without question."

"Why you little…"

Sigurd quickly unsheathed his sword and swung it above his head. Knowing full well what he was going to do next, I quickly jumped in front of Kirito, who was already reaching for his sword. Before he could unsheathe it, I moved in front of Kirito and deflected Sigurd's blade.

"Oi, oi… We're trying to leave your beautiful town in a peaceful manner. If I recall, we haven't done anything wrong in this town of yours." I told the man, glaring at him.

"People like you two should know their place!" Sigurd threatened, "You two are probably just renegades who were exiled from your own territories."

"Watch what you say Sigurd. Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san are my new partners!" Leafa declared.

"What?!" Sigurd roared, "Leafa, do you plan on abandoning your home territory and becoming a renegade too?!"

"Yes, that's right. I'm leaving this place!"

I looked at Leafa questioningly. Her voice made it seem like she wasn't too sure about her decision of leaving, and she doesn't really look like she wants to. Kirito and I on the other hand were caught a bit off guard. We don't necessarily know what's so bad about leaving your territory, but if someone we just met is doing that just for us, then it makes me feel sorry for making her do something that serious.

"I was going to leave this Imp and Spriggan to crawl like the little insects they are, but since you have stolen one of my comrades, you have asked for a death wish." Sigurd grunted, "Seeing as you walked into another race's territory looking all composed, I suppose you don't mind if I put you down right this instant?"

"Death is inevitable." I told him with an even more serious tone, "We were all born to die someday. No matter how much you try to prolong your life, death will always come. Go ahead and cut me down if you want, but I assure you that I'm not going to go easy even on pieces of trash such as yourself."

"You little!" Sigurd roared as he brought up his sword once again to attack me.

Before he could even bring his sword down, I moved my sword to my left hand and used my right hand to punch Sigurd square on his chest. Despite his stout armor, the lightweight body of fairies as well as my in-game strength sent the man flying. In fact, he flew so far that he broke open the door to the tower's entrance. Sigurd was left there, dazed and unable to move. His two followers went over to help him up. Everyone around us, as well as a whole crowd outside was watching. Since the man has pissed me off, I decided to show him no mercy.

"Sorry Kirito, Leafa… But this guy has pissed me off. You guys can go on ahead and make your way to the top." I told them as I began heading for the broken entrance and towards Sigurd.

"Mortifer-san…" Leafa spoke in bewilderment since I had just attacked a Sylph in their own territory. Kirito motioned for Leafa to head up stairs and she obliged. I then made my way to Sigurd.

"This territory is a Safe-Zone Area for you Sylphs, so no matter what I do to you, you won't be able to die." I began speaking in a loud voice to Sigurd, "However, that doesn't mean someone of a different race can't fight back at all should they enter foreign territory. I can still block, parry, attack and use magic. To be honest, I like it this way since I get to enjoy your suffering without having to worry about you disappearing on me."

"You… You'll pay for that!" Sigurd shouted as he pushed his comrades away and charged me with his sword.

The two of us began clashing. Not wanting to waste the durability of my sword on a pointless fight, I dodged more than I blocked. I also did this so I could make him look like a fool, completely unable to land any attacks on me. Whenever I found the chance, I would hit him at the back of his head or make him trip and fall on the ground.

"You said Leafa was your comrade just now, right?" I asked him as I continued to effortlessly dodge his attacks, "If that is true, then you should start treating her like one. I have comrades of my own. Although I give them a strict set of rules to follow, I only give them to make sure they are safe from danger. Other than that, they are completely free to do whatever they want to do without consequences. People are given the right to do whatever their heart desires. We can even choose to break the laws that we are abided to in the real world. That is the same here in the virtual world because while we are fairies in this world, we are still humans on the inside."

"Just quit your yapping already! And hold still so I can gut you like a fish!" Sigurd threatened. I've had enough with this guy.

Showing absolutely no mercy, I grabbed onto the guy's arm and twisted it around, disabling him from moving it. I made him drop his sword which I quickly picked up. I held the broadsword with two hands and hit Sigurd on the side of his head using the flat side of the blade. The scene was like a batter hitting a baseball since I sent Sigurd flying towards the crowd, who managed to move out of the way in time. Everyone gasped at the sight of Sigurd being completely beaten up by me. All eyes then turned to me but I simply disregarded all of them. I then took Sigurd's sword and spun myself in circles as if I were doing a hammer toss. Putting all my strength and momentum on his sword, I threw it far away, possible to the other side of town. It disappeared past the rooftops and I let out a sigh of satisfaction.

I brushed the dirt that got on my clothes and sheathed my sword. I headed back to the main tower, where the crowd from inside had gone out to watch the fight. They created a path for me and I thanked them for doing so by bowing. I quickly passed through and made my way upstairs. While going up, I noticed that the Voices were acting up. In fact, they may have been acting up ever since I hit Sigurd. I must've been in too much of a rush to notice them. I stopped in my tracks and began breathing deeply in order to push away the Voices and catch my breath at the same time. Once they receded to the back of my head, I continued upstairs and eventually made it to the top.

The wind was strong and so my cloak continuously flapped around, becoming somewhat of an annoyance. Kirito and Leafa were standing near the edge of the tower. There was a little Sylph boy talking to them. Upon closer examination, I noticed it to be Recon. Kirito was the first to notice me approaching them.

"Hey! Did you finish beating up Sigurd?" Kirito called out to me.

"Yeah! He wasn't even close to being challenging for me." I responded, "I sent him flying into the crowd and threw his sword somewhere far away."

"I hope you guys realize that you just made enemies with the Sylphs. After all, Sigurd is part of the Sylph government. In fact, he was the military commander." Leafa stated.

"He was the military commander?!" I exclaimed, "Jeez, you guys need to get a grip on yourselves. If that guy was your military commander, then I'm afraid that your dream of reaching the top of Yggdrasil will continue being a dream. That is unless everyone is as weak as him, then that means nobody can reach the top."

"Onii, remember that this game utilizes your physical capabilities in the real world. You took a couple years of kendo yourself, so it wouldn't be a surprise if you beat a guy like him who probably has no real skill at all." Kirito told me, crossing his arms since he was trying to make a point.

"Oh, you do kendo?" Leafa asked me.

"Used to, but not anymore. Anyways, are we going to head out now?" I asked her.

"Yeah we were just about to go." Leafa stated.

"I-I'm coming with you guys! My blade serves Leafa-chan and only her." Recon finally spoke up.

"But I don't really need it." Leafa bluntly admitted, making Recon slump his shoulders in disappointment, "I already have Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san with me."

"I-I'll be naturally tagging along… Is what I meant to say. But there is something that I've been suspicious about recently."

"What is it?" Leafa questioned him.

"I don't have any real evidence yet, but I want to investigate a bit so I'll remain in Sigurd's party for a bit more. Afterwards, I'll go meet you guys in Alne." Recon declared. He was about to leave when he quickly turned to face me and Kirito, "Oh, I almost forgot. Kirito-san, Mortifer-san, she has a habit of getting into trouble, so please be careful."

"O-Okay then…" Kirito stuttered. I simply nodded in response.

"And just so you know, Leafa-chan is my-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Leafa quickly walked over and stomped Recon on his foot, causing the Sylph boy to go through some pain. He grabbed his foot and began rubbing it to ease up the pain.

"We will be in neutral territory for a while Recon, so message me if something happens." Leafa told him. She walked to the edge of the tower and flew off. Kirito quickly followed her.

"Sorry kid. I hope to see you in Alne!" I saluted to him as I too ran to edge of the tower and flew off.

"He seems to like you a lot Leafa." I teased her. Leafa's face turned red from embarrassment.

"I-It's not like it matters!" she stuttered as she began flying faster to create distance between us. Kirito and I looked at each other and laughed lightly. We then caught up to Leafa who then smiled at us, "Come on! We will reach that lake in one go!"

"Right!" Kirito yelled in response.

The two of them boosted off towards the lake in front of us and left me behind. I let out a long sigh as I looked at the mountain range which separated us from the World Tree. I could probably get all the way to the mountain range in one go but I don't think they would appreciate being dragged by me in nearly Mach speed. I also didn't want to leave my brother alone just in case he gets himself into a dire situation. I then rocketed off to catch up with them.

 **An hour later**

"Our wings are about to give in, so we need to head down for a bit!" Leafa called out to us. Kirito and I nodded and the three of us began our descent to the ground, "You guys tired?"

"No, not really." Kirito replied as he stretched his arms.

"I'm tired of being bored…" I complained since the only fun I've had in this journey of ours is flying in the sky.

"Well aren't you two hard workers. Even when our wings recover, we still have to quiet flying for a while now." Leafa stated.

"How come?" I asked her.

"You see those mountains over there?" Leafa said as she pointed to the mountains which acted as a natural barrier between us and the World Tree, "We can't fly above it since it is above the maximum flight altitude limit. We need to go through the caves inside the mountains. The route we will be taking is called the Lugrue Corridor. I've heard that it is the roughest part of the trip from Sylph territory to Alne. This will be my first time going beyond this place too."

"I see…" Kirito mumbled.

"Caves huh? At least my night vision will come in handy, and can't I fly a little bit in caves?" I asked Leafa.

"I don't really know much of the details myself but I know you are able to fly a certain distance above the ground. Once you get too far, your wings will stop working. I've also heard that the tunnel passages are rather small so you don't have to worry about falling. Anyways, a neutral mining town is supposedly located halfway that we can use as a rest stop. Just like the name of the corridor, the town is called Lugrue."

"Well okay then…" I mumbled since I didn't really want to hear all of that useless information.

"So how long can you guys stay?" Leafa asked us.

"It's seven o' clock in the real world…" Kirito declared, "I think the two of us are fine for a while."

"Okay then. We'll try to get as far as possible then." Leafa stated, "Why don't we rotate out here?"  
'Rotate?" I questioned her.

"It means taking turns logging out and resting." She began explaining to us, "In a neutral region, you can't log out right away, so people take turns logging out and watching their friend's avatar. If nobody is around to do something like that, your avatar is completely vulnerable to being attacked by players or monsters."

"I see… Sounds good I guess." Kirito agreed.

"You guys can go ahead and log off. I'll keep watch until you guys return." I encouraged them. Kirito and Leafa both nodded and logged out of the game. I was now left alone with their seemingly sleeping avatars. Then, I saw Kirito's shirt pocket begin to move.

"Yui?" I called out.

"Yes, I'm here Mortifer-san." She said as she flew out of Kirito's pocket, "Did you want to ask me something?"

"Not necessarily. I just wanted to know if you were doing alright, that's all.

"Yes, I have. In fact, I'm having a little bit of fun since I get to travel with Papa again. My emotional levels when we departed were in levels I have never reached before. Though if there's anybody who has suffered more pain, it is you Mortifer-san."

"You think so?" I asked her.

"I know so." She smiled but it quickly faded away, "Mortifer-san… I really do feel sorry for what happened to you in Sword Art Online. Maybe if I chose to not give you your Darkness Blade, you would have suffered less pain."

"Well, what's done is done. Even if I had some sort of time travelling machine, I wouldn't want to change my past, because I'm scared of how it will change me now. And if it happens to change me in a bad way, then there's probably a slim chance of me being able to change it back to what it originally was, assuming I find this time machine again. And while the Darkness Blade brought me mental suffering beyond anything I've ever experienced, it still holds a place in my heart as a tool I used to help save my friends, as well as end the game. I am glad that I am the one whom you gave the Unique Skill, Yui-chan."

"Thank you Mortifer-san…" Yui said with a bright smile on her face.

The two of us sat there for a while. I lied on the grass, looking up at the blue sky. In the real world, night has already fallen, yet here we are lying out in the sun. The sky and surroundings reminded me of the 22nd Floor of Aincrad, where the Forest House K4 is located. The same house in which Kirito, Asuna, and Yui lived in as a family. Speaking of which…

"Hey Yui… Do you miss Asuna? Your Mama?" I asked the pixie girl.

"Of course, I miss her a lot!" Yui exclaimed, "I really hope she is here, and that Papa and I can see her again. Oh yes, I forgot. You and Papa are brothers, right?"

"Yeah, we're brothers." I smiled.

"So, then that makes you my Oji-chan!" Yui beamed. Her sudden statement and excitement caught me a little bit off guard.

"Oji-chan? Well, okay then..." I said. Yui happily flew to the top of my head and sat down. She began playing with my hair, twirling her tiny arms through it.

"Unfortunately, Papa's avatar has spiky hair, so I can't sit on his head properly. Can I use your head instead Oji-chan?" Yui pleaded.

"As long as you don't do it for long periods of time yeah. You're so small that I can barely feel you pressing down on my head. I'm sorry if I make sudden movements."  
"Oh don't worry about Oji-chan. After all, I am an immortal private pixie!"

 **Ten minutes later**

To kill time, I told Yui about the events that occurred after she disappeared from SAO. I told her about how I saved her Mama and Papa from Heathcliff, as well as my reunion with Cloud. I told her how I made amends with my family and how we determined that Asuna was in ALfheim Online. As we continued waiting for my brother and Leafa, I sensed something watching us. I sat up and scanned my surroundings. Since I couldn't see much from such a low view point, I stood up and began looking around. I couldn't see anything.

"What is it Oji-chan?" Yui asked me.

"I sensed something weird, like someone was watching us." I told her as I closed my eyes to listen for sound. I cupped my ears to try to pick up more sound but all I could hear was the wind blowing and the birds chirping. I couldn't pick up any unnatural sounds.

"I'm not detecting any players nearby." Yui

"Huh… It must be my imagination then…"

Yui and I waited for a little bit longer before Kirito finally logged on.

"Hey, what's up Katsu-nii." My brother greeted, "Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Nope Nothing. Yui and I were just conversing with one another. I got her caught up with all the events that happened after she was semi-deleted by the Cardinal."

"Okay then, well you can log out now. I'll keep watch. Oh, and I prepared you two sandwiches."

"Alright thanks. See you later then." I said as I navigated my menu and logged out of the game.

 **Ten minutes later**

I would've taken much longer had Kirito not made me those two sandwiches. After that, I went ahead to use the bathroom and logged right back in. I found myself back inside ALfheim Online, at the exact location of where I logged out. Yui had been resting on my head the entire time I was gone. Leafa was eating one of the food items Kirito bought in the market at Swilvane and she does not seem like she was enjoying the spicy black pipe.

"God, what is this stuff made of?" Leafa coughed out.

"No clue, but the vendor said that it was a specialty item only found in Swilvane." Kirito explained to her.

"Really? I've never seen that before…"

"Hate to interrupt, but I've returned." I greeted them.

"Welcome back, Oji-chan." Yui happily greeted me whilst hanging upside down from my head.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" I asked them.

"No, it's been quiet." Kirito responded.

"Oh yeah, before you guys got here, I sensed someone was watching us but Yui confirmed that there were no players nearby." I informed them, "Usually my instincts are right but it may have just been my imagination."

"Not necessarily. Someone might have put a Tracer on us." Leafa mused.

"A Tracer? What's that?" Kirito asked her.

"It's a type of tracking magic. It usually looks like a small familiar and it reports the location of the target to the caster. If we can find it, we can destroy it and stop the caster from knowing our location. However, since we are in a rather big forest, it may be impossible to find it here. The higher the level of the tracer, the farther away it can be from us."

"Well, if I sense something out of the unusual, I'll go ahead and tell you guys. Yui, you should keep checking for nearby players every now and then." I told them.

"You can count on me Oji-chan!"

The three of us summoned our wings and prepared to take off. Leafa led the way while Kirito followed closely behind. Before I took off, I got a sensation that someone was watching us. It was just like the one I got previously, but this time it felt much closer. I closed my eyes and strained my ears, but I couldn't hear anything. Normally I'd be able to detect something with my Completed stealth, eavesdrop, and evasion skills, but it seems that my _PER_ attribute has gone done since I no longer have the  Darkness Blade. I shrugged my shoulders and took off, following Kirito and Leafa to the mountains.


	5. Chapter 4: The Lugrue Corridor

**Ten minutes later, entrance of the** **Lugrue Corridor**

Our wings died out as soon as we reached the mountain. Well, it wasn't necessarily the base of the mountain but a location near it. Hills surrounded us except for one side where the land drops to a river below. The entrance to the Lugrue Corridor was under some sort of ancient, ruined aqueduct. Water continued to flow in its channel but the only thing it supplied was the river below it. According to Leafa, this route is the most dangerous route from Swilvane to Alne, but it is also the shortest.

Even so, most Sylphs take a different path, much farther north from their territory. It's a pass inside Cait Sith territory, called the Butterfly Valley. With the Sylphs and Cait Sith apparently being on good terms, the two races share the pass. Another route Sylphs can take is the Dragons Valley which is located east of Swilvane. However, that route is controlled by the Salamanders who rule over the southern region of Alfheim. Since we were on a rush to get to the World Tree, we didn't even care about how dangerous this pass will be. At least I won't get bored.

We entered the underpass of the aqueduct and found the entrance to the cave. We walked inside and continued down the tunnel. Being an Imp, the cave was completely visible to me due to my natural night vision, but Kirito and Leafa were struggling with seeing what was in front of them.

"God, I can't see a thing!" Leafa exclaimed. She was trying to feel her surroundings and almost ran into me before I stopped her from doing so, "Sorry…"

"It's fine." I forgave her.

"Hey Yui, do you know if there's a spell we can use for night vision?" Kirito asked her.

"Yes, there is." Yui responded from inside Kirito's pocket, "I'll tell you the words for this one, but you also have a list of available magic spells located in your Magic menu."

Yui began speaking the words for the incantation. I noticed that they were in English so I understood most of the words, but my brother understood none of them since he is only fluent in Japanese.

"To begin casting a spell, you raise your hand out and recite the words of power." Yui explained to him.

My brother did what he was told and words of magic began appearing in the air in front of him. When he finished his incantation, his mana bar decreased slightly and both his and Leafa's eyes began glowing a faint green. He accidentally casted the spell on me as well, making my vision only a tad bit brighter than what it was before.

'Wow! It got brighter!" Leafa exclaimed, "I guess Spriggans are good for something after all."

"If you put it that way, it kind of hurts." Kirito pointed out, causing Leafa to let out a small giggle.

"In general, one should learn as much magic as they can, but you Spriggans excel in mirages."

"Mirages?"

"It means you're good at projecting illusions." Leafa explained, "It's not very useful in combat, especially if one is aware that something is an illusion. But, I guess lame Spriggan magic can be the difference between life and death."

Leafa picked up her pace and walked ahead of us. She kept giggling due to her constant teasing of Kirito.

"That hurt even more…" my brother mumbled. I patted his shoulder and gave him a smile to soften the blows, "Hey Leafa, what magic is Mortifer good at?!"

"Mortifer-san?" Leafa turned around and questioned us. She put her hand to her chin, "I believe Imps are good at Dark Magic, which is quite useful if you learn the right spells and get it to a high enough level."

"Come on Leafa, give my brother some slack. He was on a rush when he chose his race." I told her.

"Okay, whatever you say." Leafa laughed as she continued walking ahead.

"Hey Katsu-nii… I wasn't in that much of a rush…" Kirito quietly whispered to me so Leafa couldn't hear.

"Whatever, just move." I commanded him as I forcefully pushed him in front of me.

 **Several minutes later**

If the city is at the very center of the mountain, then it makes sense for the tunnel to be this long. However, the fact that we have yet to encounter a single monster is making me annoyed since walking in a small cave isn't fun at all. And during this whole trip, I've had to listen to Kirito practice reciting the magical English words in this game as well as him and Leafa conversing about the uses of magic.

I was about to start complaining when I sensed something behind me. I turned around to look but couldn't see anything. I stopped in my tracks and strained my ears, but all I could hear was my brother's complaints about magic and its uses.

"I think I'll stick to being a pure fighter…" Kirito groaned.

"No complaining!" Leafa scolded at my brother.

"You guys, be quiet!" I demanded them, surprising them a little bit, "I'm sensing something…"

Just then, a small flash of yellow appeared in front of Leafa. I barely managed to make out the tiny envelope symbol, signaling that she had received a new message from someone. Leafa opened her inbox to check the message herself.

"Recon?" She questioned it, "I'm sure it's nothing much but I may as well check it out… _It was just like I thought. Be careful. S._ "

"S? What is that supposed to mean." Kirito asked her.

"I have no idea."

Leafa began mumbling words that could begin with the letter S but struggled to find the right one. At this point, my sixth sense started tingling like crazy, causing my heart to beat faster due to worry building up inside of me. Yui seems to have noticed this too and she popped out of Kirito's pocket.

"Papa, I detect incoming signatures." Yui informed him.

"Monsters?" Kirito asked.

"No, players. Seventeen of them." Yui responded.

"Seventeen?!" Leafa exlciamed.

"I think the S must have meant Salamanders." I told her. Leafa put her hand on her chin.

"I don't like the looks of this… Let's hide and let them pass us."

"Hide? But where?" Kirito questioned the Sylph girl.

"Leave that to me." Leafa said, smiling with confidence.

She dragged us to a nearby crevice and pushed us against the wall. She quickly spun around and started speaking a magical incantation. After she finished, a slightly translucent wall appeared in front of us, separating us from the main tunnel. Curious, I lightly touched the wall which created waves when I touched it, just like the surface waves of water.

"Talk as softly as you can." Leafa told us, "If you're too loud, the spell will break and we will be exposed."

"Nii-chan, do you sense anything?" my brother asked me.

I held my finger up to silence him and I closed my eyes. I strained my ears as much as possible and concentrated on trying to discern what it is that I am sensing right now. I could hear my heart beating from my chest, and the faint wind that blew through the tunnel. I could hear water dripping from stalactites on the ceiling. However, the most unnatural sound I heard amongst all the sounds I was detecting, was the sound of wings beating.

"I hear the beating of wings… It sounds like a bird… Wait, no… Not a bird… Something else…" I whispered to them.

I opened my eyes again and peered around the corner. I could faintly hear the beating of the wings, but I couldn't see anything just yet. After moments of silence, I saw a faint silhouette of something lurking in the shadows. It was a small flying creature. When it got closer, I managed to make out its miniscule, glowing red eyes. The creature was indeed capable of flight, but it was no bird. It was a small vampire bat.

"Nii-chan… What's that silhouette?" my brother asked me.

"It's a vampire bat." I told him.

"Its eyes… Were they glowing?" Leafa quietly asked me.

"Yeah." I answered her. All of a sudden, Leafa jumped out of the crevice, breaking her magical fake wall.

"That's a high level-tracer! We need to destroy it!" she shouted.

She held her hands out and began speaking another incantation. The bat noticed that it was in danger and screeched. It began flying away with its tiny little bat wings, but it did so in vain. Words of power appeared in front of Leafa and when all of them were together, it glowed brightly then disappeared, leaving behind several needle-like projectiles. Leafa sent out the magical projectiles towards the bat. Most of them missed, but the ones that did hit killed the bat.

"We need to run! Now!" Leafa shouted as she took off without us. Kirito and I quickly followed her.

"Can't we just hide again?" Kirito asked her.

"Since we destroyed their tracer, they're going to be more aware of their surroundings. The tracer we destroyed was fire-based. So Mortifer was right about the S in Recon's message being the word Salamander."

"Sylphs would've been my second guess since I made quite a scene back in Swilvane. Didn't you say Sigurd is part of the government there?" I asked Leafa as we ran.

"He is part of the government there, and it would not be surprising if he sent down some Sylphs to hunt you down after you humiliated him back there. But since that tracer was of a fire-element race, the people chasing us are most likely Salamanders."

We continued running through the tunnel for a minute. I still couldn't see the Salamanders behind us, so they must be a bit farther behind. I can however, hear their footsteps echoing inside the tunnel we were in, but it was faint compared to our own. Eventually we got far enough into the tunnel that it opened up into a giant cavern. We were near the top of the cavern, so I was able to see almost everything inside of it. A titanic, glowing crystal was hanging at the center of the cavern's ceiling. Right below it, the city of Lugrue stood on top of a large lake. The sight was truly incredible.

"Whoa… Would you look at that!" Kirito exclaimed.

We continued down the road we've been taking, which went on a rather steep decline towards the bottom of the cavern. Although it was steep, we could still hold our footing fairly well. We quickly descended down to the lake and began crossing the bridge which appears to be the only entrance to the city from this side of the cavern. We were halfway through the bridge and I still couldn't see Salamanders behind us.

"I think we outran them." Kirito panted.

"Don't be so sure and let your guard down now." Leafa warned him.

Surely enough, we were stopped when streaks of light flew over our heads and landed in front of the city's gated walls. After a short pause, a large rock wall formed from where the streaks of light landed, preventing us from entering the city.

"Crap!" Leafa exclaimed. Without warning, Kirito drew out his sword and leaped towards the wall. He swung his sword as hard as he could but it harmlessly bounced off of it, causing Kirito to go sprawling from the recoil, "That wall is of an earth-element. Physical attacks won't work against it."

"You should have said that sooner." Kirito groaned as he got up from the ground.

"It's not my fault that you're impatient." Leafa growled.

"Can't we jump into the lake?" Kirito asked her.

"I don't think that's a good idea either Kirito…" I told him as I looked over the bridge's edge and into the water. Enormous silhouettes swam under the surface of the lake. I could make out their glowing red eyes in the murky waters. A few air bubbles formed and I backed away cautiously.

"High-level monsters lurk in the water. Fighting them would be complete suicide unless you have an Undine with you that is capable of high-level water magic." Leafa explained.

"Everything in this game is high-level, isn't it? What a drag…" I complained as I unsheathed my sword. I looked behind us and managed to make out seventeen figures in red heading right toward us.

"So, fighting is our one and only option…" Kirito declared as he too drew out his sword.

"Well, since I am an Imp, I can fly upwards slightly and throw you guys over the wall, but that isn't to your liking now is it Kirito?" I asked my brother. He shook his head and I sighed, "With my speed bug, I can easily catch up with you guys, so you guys should just go on ahead and head over to Alne. I'll deal with whoever these guys are."

"Nii-chan… Stop it already… I'm not leaving you here." My brother warned.

"I'm not going anywhere either!" Leafa added in.

"Fine whatever…" I sighed.

"Well, although I just said that, it's a bit risky for us to fight. That wall is a high-level Earth Magic, so that means they probably have a team of powerful mages." Leafa stated as she too began drawing out her katana.

"Leafa… It's not like I don't trust in your skills with a sword or anything, but can you support me and Mortifer instead of fighting with us?" Kirito asked her, "I want you healing us so we can fight with no worries."

"I'd rather you focus all of your healing on Kirito as much as possible since it is more important for him to live." I told her.

Leafa nodded her head and jumped back behind us. She put her sword back into her sheathe as Kirito and I charged at the enemy Salamanders. Right in front of us were six heavily armored players with huge shields. They stood in front of us, like a wall, preventing us from getting to the mages. They're most likely the tanks. Right behind them were four mages in red. Behind those guys are six other mages. There was one last Salamander behind all of them. He was not dressed as a mage but rather a fighter. Is it me, or this like just a like a standard boss raid formation for these types of RPGs? I didn't really have much time to think about it as I followed Kirito who attacked the wall of six armored players.

Together, combining both of our strikes into one powerful attack, we slammed our blades into the wall of players. The sound of metal against metal rang in the air and even echoed across the cavern. Their health bars dropped a considerable amount, but they didn't move an inch from their spot. Not even a moment later, I heard the mages start chanting out an incantation, causing both Kirito and I to back away in case it was an attack. I was wrong.

The powerful combination attack we dealt on their tanks became reversed as magic began rapidly healing the health bars of the tanks. Once their health bars completely rejuvenated themselves, a new set of chants sounded from behind the healing mages. The six mages at the very back held their staves up, where a small ball of fire began forming. They grew bigger until they suddenly became projectiles heading straight towards us.

"Uh oh. Run for it!" I shouted at my brother who reacted a second too late.

The explosion still got me and I was dropped near half. My brother on the other hand was brought down below half. The noise of the explosion also echoed throughout the cave. Surely the people inside the town will notice a fight occurring right outside the walls, that is unless there is some sort of magical barrier that acts as an invisible wall. Even so, this fight could prove to be a bit troublesome for us.

"Kirito-kun! Mortifer-san!" Leafa cried out to us. She began chanting herself and began healing Kirito. Burn marks, scratches and even the dirt on his clothes disappeared as his health bar became full again.

"Remember, don't worry about healing me, get Kirito!" I yelled out to her. She nodded her head and I turned back to prepare for the next attack.

I can't go around them since the bridge is too narrow. Their massive shields and bodies act like a wall. To pass through them, I would have to go around by jumping on the bridge's edge or jumping over them. However, the monster I saw early is still lurking around. I can feel its presence and its urge to kill us. When I quickly glanced at it again, I saw multiple tendril-like silhouettes in the murky waters. If those things are tentacles, then they can grab me if I'm too close to the edge. Which means jumping over them will be my final option.

Kirito and I quickly charged at the six tanks. Our combined attacks continued to bring down their health but their healers completely negated our efforts. After the attack, I quickly vaulted over their wall of players. I barely managed to dodge the incoming fireballs from the damage-dealing mages, but Kirito took a huge hit from them. Since I can no longer turn back, I rushed for the healers. I expected to see them panic but they all remained compose. That's when the seventeenth, the one who stood behind all of them, suddenly confronted me. Most of his face was covered by his helmet but I managed to make out an evil grin forming on it.

"Try again." He said as he put his hand against my chest.

I was suddenly blown away by a huge gust of air. I flew over their front line, through the inferno created by their fireball magic, and finally slammed into the earth wall which blocked us from entering the city. I didn't lose any health from being launched but it dropped slightly when I hit the wall. I fell flat on the ground, slightly fazed from the sudden attack.

"I think I've lost my touch a little bit… But what the hell was that…" I groaned.

"He used an item on you called _Cloud Burst_. It is a usable item that when used, the target will be pushed by an extremely powerful burst of wind that can send even Gnomes flying far away. You are lucky there was this wall to stop you from going too far." Leafa explained to me.

"He's going to be expecting me to vault over again so I have no choice but to keep hitting the tanks. But…"

"Yeah… We are completely outnumbered, and the damage output of their mages is greater than the amount I can heal Kirito every time they attack. Oh man, this sucks…" Leafa angrily said as she stomped her foot on the ground, "Kirito-kun! This is enough! If we lose, it just means we're going to have to fly for a few more hours than we have to! Let's just give up!"

"No way…" Kirito responded to her in a rather serious tone, surprising Leafa, "As long as I stand… As long as I still have even the slightest hint of life in me… I refuse to let any party members die… I won't let that happen ever again!"

Even while standing in the burning flames, Kirito stood there, his spirit unwavering. He looked at us with dead serious eyes. Even though this is no longer Sword Art Online… Even though dying in this game won't get you killed in the real life… My brother still treats the game as reality. His eyes were filled with resolve and determination. I suddenly remembered the time I was spying on Kirito back in SAO. He told Asuna about the guild he joined before he got forced into the _Knights of the Blood Oath_. The guild's name was the _Moonlit Black Cats_. Although I didn't meet them myself, Kirito's stories about them truly warmed my heart.

One day, while exploring the dungeon, Kirito and his guildmates entered a trap room inside a dungeon of the upper floors. According to Kirito and the Monument of Life in SAO, they all perished in that dungeon. Their guild leader apparently committed suicide after learning about his friends' demise and how Kirito has been lying to them for the entire time. His statement now must be due to that traumatic experience of his. Even though I didn't experience it myself, protecting others before yourself is a common trait in this family of ours.

I looked back at Kirito, who faced our enemies. The blazing inferno which had surrounded him finally dissipated. My brother then let out one terrifyingly loud scream as a battle cry. I'm positive that my brother's mind has gone into full-on battle mode. Nothing will stop him now, just like me when I am under the influence of the _Yami no Saji_. He charged after the Salamander tanks and grabbed one of the players' shields. He began prying it apart and jammed his own sword between the opening, preventing them from closing the gap in their defense.

"Mortifer! Go!"

I quickly picked up my sword and heads straight for the opening which Kirito had made. The other tanks panicked as I closed in on them but then the Salamander who used that _Cloud Burst_ thing confronted me before I could do anything. I then heard the mages at the back line begin chanting out another incantation for another attack. I stopped in my tracks, knowing that if I take another hit from that attack, I will surely die.

"Mortifer get back, I'll take it for us." Kirito told me.

"Dude, you're going to die." I responded to him.

"Leafa will protect me. Trust me on this." Kirito affirmed.

"You better not mess up or else I'm dragging your body over to Yggdrasil at _my_ speed." I warned him as I jumped back to where Leafa was.

Leafa began an incantation and when it ended, the words of power turned blue and exploded into hundreds of small butterflies. Those butterflies formed a thin spherical shield around Kirito. The very next moment, the next wave of magic attacks came crashing into Kirito. The butterfly shield absorbed the entire barrage until the thin layer of blue light shattered. While that happened, Kirito began casting his own magic spell.

"Go for it Papa!" Yui encouraged my brother.

"What the hell is he doing?" I asked Yui but Leafa was the one to respond.

"Kirito-kun is casting an illusion spell that makes you transform into a random creature. You can transform into the weakest creature in the game or a terrifying monster. However, it does not help one in combat at all, especially if the enemies are wary of the illusion."

Despite saying that, Kirito continued to cast the magic. When it finished, the flames that burned around him seemed to be absorbed by him. A fire tornado formed around Kirito which continuously got bigger. Kirito disappeared inside the vortex, and it was replaced by an enormous silhouette. The figure hidden inside the flames towered above me, several meters in height. It seemed to have some sort of goat head since there were horns sticking out of either side. The hands also had some rather sharp and long claws with it. Finally, the figure had a tail that was the same length as one of its arms. The end of the tail had two little dots that glowed an insanely bright red. Bright enough to see through the vortex. When the inferno did clear, I could not believe my eyes.

The creature I saw was indeed something I have seen before. Its blue skin, and chimera-like appearance is still as I remembered it to be. This creature was one of the boss monsters in Sword Art Online. The 74th Floor Boss to be exact. While the stories of _The Twin Blade Swordsman_ spoke about him defeating _The Blue-Eyed Demon_ , that was not the true name of the monster. No… The monster that killed three _Army_ members, and almost killed my own brother was not called that. The one back then, and the one that stands before me now is called _The Gleam Eyes_.

A demonic laughter sounded from the creature as it began breathing out some terrifying flames. Even though I knew it was an illusion, it looked so real. Even the Salamanders were slowly backing away from the menacing demon that was my brother. My brother then let out the most deafening roar I've ever heard that I was sure the stalactites above us would surely fall down and impale us. My brother then charged towards their line of tanks and effortlessly pierces one of them with his claws. The poor player died instantly despite having full health.

"Are you sure it doesn't affect his combat skills?!" I questioned Leafa who was also bewildered. I couldn't tell if he wasn't given a boost of physical strength, or they were just weaker than I expected.

Nonetheless, demon Kirito continued his merciless onslaught on the rest of the tanks, who panicked and ran away in terror. He quickly grabbed two of the players and made a clapping motion, smashing the two players into each other. They didn't die from the attack, but Kirito then threw them off the bridge and into the lake where they were swallowed up by a giant sea monster which jumped out of the water to get them. The rest of the three tanks kept running but Kirito's giant legs helped him move faster.

He grabbed another player and began chomping on the poor guy. The player exploded into pieces in his mouth and Kirito was forced to spit out the guy's Remain Light. He then swiped at another player with the back of his hand, sending him flying into the side of the bridge. The impact killed him instantly. As for the last tank, who didn't even try to run since he was paralyzed from shock, Kirito simply stepped on him and his deformed body was covered in rubble. The horrible sight disappeared right away as the player also turned into a Remain Light. Kirito then faced the mages as well as the Salamander with the _Cloud Burst_ item.

"U-Use explosion magic!" Their leader commanded as they all quickly raised their staves and aimed at Kirito. However, they were already too late.

Kirito, in all of his monstrous glory, ran straight to the mages who stopped their incantations out of fear. He spun around and used his serpent tail as a whip, sending two mages flying. They died while they were still in the air. He killed the remaining two healing mages by gobbling them up and later spitting out their red robes.

"R-Retreat! Retreat" the leading Salamander shouted in desperation. The mages began to run away as well as their last remaining fighter. The masked Salamander ran much faster than the mages, and so I made my move.

I summoned my wings and took off towards the _Cloud Burst_ Salamander. My flying speed wasn't as fast as normal, but I could still catch up with the guy easily. I flew past the mages, who was then stopped by Kirito. I then cut off the Salamander caused him to trip. Wanting just a little bit of revenge, I removed the guy's helmet and began dragging him along the floor by his feet. Fortunately for him, the bridge's surface was rather smooth as it was made of limestone. So instead, I decided to throw him against the giant earth wall which is still blocking our path.

The man's body stuck to the wall for a few seconds before it fell back down to the ground. I drew out my sword but then hesitated. Would this be the right time to see if killing someone here will really give me another Voice? I might as well do it now than wait for it to come by later. If I'm really going to stay in this game, there will surely be times where I need to kill my opponents. And with that, I quickly killed the player by stabbing him in the heart, causing the man to die almost instantly since he had already taken damage from smashing into the wall. As I expected, my mind began burning up as a new Voice suddenly appeared. The same voice which I had taunted me earlier is now screaming in my head. Screaming something which he had never said to me. Mercy.

Needing to calm myself down, I sat down and leaned against the stone wall. However, the wall disappeared moments later and I fell back to the ground, hitting my head from being unbalanced. I rubbed the pain away and looked at how Kirito was doing. He had killed the rest of the mages except for one person, whom he held in his hands.

"Kirito-kun! Let that one go!" she pleaded.

"Why so?" I questioned her as I rested myself.

"I want to interrogate him and find out why they were hunting us." Leafa responded. Kirito stopped himself and dropped the mage. He was then covered by a thick, grey fog as his magic dissipated.

"Wasn't Papa great?" Yui beamed. She was sitting on Leafa's shoulder as the Sylph ran to the last Salamander. She drew out her sword and put the tip of it towards the man's neck.

"Now… Why don't you explain yourself?" Leafa interrogated, "Who sent you here? Why did they send you here?"

"I won't tell you anything! Kill me if you want to!" the Salamander spat out, causing Leafa to become enraged.

"Why you little-"

"Oh man! That was fun as hell!" Kirito exclaimed as he emerged from the fog, back in his normal human form. My brother walked over to the Salamander and kneeled down next to him, "Hey! That was a nice fight! If I had been alone, I would have been dead meat! Your strategy totally trumped us!"

"K-Kirito-kun?" Leafa started but I stopped her.

"Don't bother Leafa. Let him handle it." I shouted to her as I stood up, recovered from the Voices.

"Here, I have an offer for you." Kirito said as he opened his menu and revealed to him a bunch of items, "These are all the items and Yrd I got from the battle we just had. If you answer a few of my questions, you can have it all!"

"S-Seriously?" The Salamander muttered. He looked around to see if there were any eavesdroppers, "You're not joking, right?"

"I'm being completely serious right now." Kirito said with a rather goofy smile. The two players both smiled and began laughing. I guess they've made an agreement.

"Men…" Leafa muttered under her breath.

"They don't know how to be subtle do they?" Yui agreed. I picked up a tiny piece of rubble that Kirito created, and threw it at Leafa's head. The Sylph turned around, enraged at my actions.

"What was that for?" She shouted.

"I heard you guys ridiculing us men." I told her.

"Jeez… I keep forgetting your hearing is better than most people…" Leafa groaned, "You heard me whispering even from all the way over there…"

"I'm a master eavesdropper. Even if I didn't want to eavesdrop, I pick up random sounds anyway. It's sort of like a habit that I can't drop."

After a minute of light laughter, the Salamander healed himself using magic. He sat down on the side of the bridge, his back leaning on the railing. Kirito and Leafa stood in front of him while I sat on the railing itself, carefully watching the waters should I need to jump away.

"Earlier this evening, G-Taku… Uh, I mean the mage squad's leader, texted me in real life and told me to meet him inside of the game." The mage started to explain, "When I logged in, he explained our group that were we going to hunt three players: A Sylph, a Spriggan, and an Imp. I thought it was complete overkill since there were seventeen of us, but when we heard that two players alone decimated six of Kagemune's members, we then knew why we needed seventeen. Apparently, one of them even fought three at once, using only their bare hands."

"Oh yes, I remember that." I laughed out, "That was fun, but I was hoping for something more."

"So, who is this Kagemune person?" Leafa questioned.

"He is the leader of the Salamander Lance Squad." The mage explained, "He is really famous for hunting down Sylphs. However, his party was completely wiped out yesterday and fled. I am assuming it was you three who did it?"

"Technically it was only me and Kirito here who did all the-"

I tried finishing my sentence, but Leafa did not want to hear what I was going to say. She walked over and pushed me off the railing of the bridge. I panicked as I quickly grabbed onto the railing and climbed back up as I saw red eyes looking at me from the water. I quickly jumped away from the side of the bridge as a giant dinosaur-like monster jumped out of the water and bit down on the stone bridge. The monster retreated into the water, leaving behind massive holes on the bridge where the teeth had punctured it.

"Are you _trying_ to kill me?!" I exclaimed at Leafa, who simply ignored me.

"So, why was the leader of the mage squad hunting us down?" Leafa asked the Salamander, who was still shocked at what just happened moments earlier.

"I-I don't know." The mage admitted, "I heard it was an order from the higher-ranking officers. Something about you stopping their plan. They would never tell a grunt like something like that, but it seems to me that it is something big. When I logged on today, I saw a huge group of Salamanders flying to the north."

"North? Are they planning on clearing the World Tree?" Leafa questioned.

"No, that's impossible. We have already deduced that the whole army would need ancient-class weapons and equipment to successfully reach the top of the tree. We've been saving a lot of money for it already. Well, that's all I know about what's going on within the Salamanders. You were serious about what you said earlier, right?"

The Salamander mage looked at Kirito, who smiled as he opened his menu.

"I'd never lie about a trade!" He responded as he brought out his trading menu.

Kirito quickly gave him all of the battle loot he gained during the battle. The Salamander stored his newly gained items and waved good bye to us. He began walking back where he came from while we headed to Lugrue. The earth barrier which had blocked us is no longer there. The gate of the city is now standing before us.

"That big monster from earlier… That was you, right Kirito-kun?" Leafa asked him.

"Hmm… I think so…" Kirito responded.

"Y-You think so?" Leafa questioned.

"It only happens to me occasionally. I just snap in battle and forget things, sort of like becoming an actual monster."

"That's scary…"

"Trust me, you haven't seen scary until you see Mortifer snap." Kirito grinned as he elbowed me on the side.

His statement caused me to remember all of the times I had activated my _Yami no Saji_. The memories from inside the Cave, protecting my friends, the execution, and my battle with Heathcliff. The Voices in my head grew louder and I clutched my head from the pain. I then thumped Kirito hard on the head.

"Can you not?" I growled at him, "I already had trouble when I killed that other guy earlier. If you provoke it more, then I won't be able to help you for quite some time."

"Um… What are you guys talking about?" Leafa questioned. I forgot she doesn't know about my condition.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It would be better if you didn't know." I told her as I looked at the gate ahead of us, "I'm going on ahead. This slow pace has been killing me. Plus, I want to go and rest."

 **A minute later,** **Lugrue**

I was utterly impressed by the city. I couldn't tell if I found Swilvane or Lugrue more beautiful. Swilvane had its immensely tall pillars, the green light, and the unique-styled buildings. The forest around it also gave it a rather nice nature feel. Lugrue is also breathtaking, especially when we viewed it at the top of the cave it is inside of. The lake around it reflects the lights given off by the huge crystal of light at the ceiling of the cave. The smaller lights inside of the town are also made up of glowing rocks. Even the roads were made of sparkling stones or even gemstones. I was so intrigued by the city, I barely managed to notice Leafa behind me.

"Wow, so this is Lugrue!" Leafa exclaimed. Yui sat on her shoulders, also admiring the scenery. Kirito was behind Leafa. He rubbed his cheek which had a red hand mark on it. He began groaning as us rubbed it.

"That one was your fault Papa!" Yui scolded her father.

"Seriously…" Leafa muttered. I walked over to them, trying not to laugh.

"What happened here?" I asked them, grinning.

"I was asking Kirito what the players tasted like since he ate some of the players in his monster form. He told me it tasted like burnt meat, and then he bit my hand." Leafa exclaimed as she showed her hand to me for evidence. There were several red marks on her hand where Kirito had bit her.

"Kirito, you're kidding, right?" I questioned his sanity.

"I was just trying to break the bad mood with a silly joke." Kirito stated, "You didn't need to slap me that hard anyway. I could have lost my remaining health and died. Anyways, didn't you get a message from Recon or whatever?"

"Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten." Leafa admitted. She opened her menu and checked her friends list, "Huh? That's weird. He is offline now. He must have fallen asleep or something."  
"Maybe you should try and contact him on the other side." I suggested.

"I guess I can try to do that. You guys wait for me, and Yui-chan, look after my body please. Don't let your Papa take advantage over it. And I trust Mortifer enough so I guess you don't need to watch him."

"Oh, come on! Is everyone ganging up on me now?" Kirito complained.

The Sylph girl found a nearby bench and took a seat. She tinkered with her menu until she found the log-out button. She pressed the button and her eyes closed as the life inside her avatar was seemingly taken away.

"Is that really what we looked like when we logged out earlier today?" Kirito questioned.

"Exactly like that." I confirmed, "It looks like we are sleeping, but in reality, the body is not even living anymore. Even now, I don't sense any life inside of Leafa. Her aura has just disappeared."

"Whatever that means… Anyway, let's go check out the stores here." Kirito suggested.

The two of us visited the stores around us, leaving Yui behind with Leafa's avatar. All around us I saw players of different races. There were Sylphs here, Pookas, Leprechauns and even Gnomes. I wonder why races from all the way up to the north are doing in a southern mining town such as Lugrue…

"Look at these players talking to each other and having fun." Kirito observed. He then pointed to a male Salamander and female Sylph holding hands, "Even though Sylphs and Salamanders are enemies, they seem to be getting along quite well."

"I'm amazed at the fact that just being in different races can separate you from people so much." I told my brother, "Yet here we are in a place where all races are gathered and not attacking each other. This reminds me of the history of racial segregation in other places in the world, like the United States."

"You think we should take ALO as our replacement for SAO?" Kirito said smiling.

"I was already thinking about that, but first, we need to find Asuna." I told my brother.

"Yeah… I guess so…" he slumped his shoulders and sighed. Then suddenly, we heard someone shouting our names.

"Kirito-kun! Mortifer-san!" a girly voice called out from behind us. I turned around to see who it was. I spotted Leafa waving her hands frantically at us while approaching us at a brisk pace. Yui sat on her head, also holding a confused look on her face.

"I'm so sorry but I need to go to a certain place. I probably won't be able to come back here."

The two of us looked at her in confusion, then we both looked at each other. Although we didn't know what happened, we were both curious about what in the world is going on to make Leafa panic all the sudden.

"Okay then let's get a move on. We can talk while we run." Kirito spoke.

"Wait, what?" Leafa bewildered.

"You said you need to go somewhere, right? That means that you also need to get out of this cave. We might as well follow you and listen if we are going to go the same direction."

"I-I guess so. Okay, then let's run and talk!"

She motioned for us to follow her and the three of us broke off into a sprint. We rushed past a few players and found the other gate leading outside of the city. We exited the city of Lugrue and ran across the bridge that connects the floating city to the cave. We passed by a sign that said Alne and continued down the path.

"That's the city we're supposed to be heading to, right?" I asked Leafa.

"Yeah and fortunately, the place where I'm heading to, the Butterfly Valley, is towards there." She explained.

"So, what's the problem Leafa?" Kirito asked her

"Recon told me that he was following Sigurd around Swilvane and saw him talking to a group of Salamanders who had snuck into the city. Sigurd told them the plans that the Sylph lord had with the Cait Sith lord. The two of them were supposed to meet at the Butterfly Valley to form an alliance and sign a treaty. Sigurd betrayed them and told the Salamanders about the alliance meeting. The Salamanders the mage was talking about earlier is heading to that location right now.

"I don't fully understand, but I can tell it's pretty bad." I mumbled.

"Can I ask a few questions then?" Kirito spoke up. Leafa nodded her head in response, "Why would Salamanders attack the Cait Sith and Sylph Lords? How does that benefit them?"

"Firstly, it could prevent an alliance from forming. If the Cait Sith found out about the leak of information caused by the Sylphs, the witnesses there definitely won't keep quiet about it." Leafa began explaining, "Although the Lords are very good friends with each other, they can't stop a rebellion. And if we go to war against each other, then the Salamanders won't have to worry about us stopping them."

"Why can't we all just be friends…" I mumbled quietly.

"Also, if the Salamanders kill the Lords, the bonuses they get will be tremendous. They will unconditionally receive thirty percent of the funds the Lord has stored in their mansion. Worst of all, the Salamanders will basically rule over the territory that the Lords have taken over and impose taxes. All of the tax money will be given to them instead of the Lords. It puts the Salamanders in a perfect position to go raid the World Tree."

"And with Swilvane having a huge market… They could possibly make thousands of this Yrd stuff." Kirito marveled.

"And that's why this is a Sylph problem. Kirito-kun, Mortifer-san, you have no reason to get involved with this fight. If you die at the conference site, you will start from Swilvane all over again. If you choose not to go, you will be at Alne in no time."

Suddenly, Leafa began slowing down drastically, making me slow down my pace as well out of curiosity. I looked at Leafa's face, which was filled with apathy. Kirito didn't really notice and ran ahead of us.

"Kirito-kun… Mortifer-san… If you're true objective lies at the top of the World Tree, it's probably best to cooperate with the Salamanders. In fact, if they are successful in this, it is almost guaranteed they will raid the World Tree. You two could very well be hired as mercenaries for their army. So… so… So, I won't complain if you two kill me right here, right now."

Kirito and I both stopped and looked at her. We looked at each other, unsure of what to think. It is true that our true objective is the world tree, but killing someone who I had just met and become acquainted with? It did not feel right, especially for someone like me who is no longer the selfish person who only cared for himself. Even so, the Voices were screaming at me, telling me to kill her right here, right now. I began hitting my head constantly, forcing the Voices to recede.

"ALO is a game, so anything can happen inside of it." Kirito began speaking to the upset Leafa, "If you want to do something then you do it. Kill someone, steal something, anything. I've met many others who thought like that. I used to be one of those people. But in the virtual world, there are somethings you have to protect no matter what. I believe that my actions in the virtual world will change me in the real world. And so, that is why I won't kill you Leafa, because I like you, and I want to be your friend. There is no way I will kill you for my own interests."

"I also do not wish to kill you, although my reasons for doing so is not something you can understand" I told Leafa, "Either way, I would have to sacrifice my humanity in order to kill a friend or someone I care about, even if that person just looks like them."

Leafa's eyes began to tear from our words to her. She put her hands on her chest and smiled at us affectionately.

"Mortifer-san… Kirito-kun… Thank you…" she quietly thanked us.

"Okay but we should hurry now. We're wasting time just standing here." I pointed out. I looked ahead of us and noticed dozens of red eyes staring at us. I pulled out my sword and held it ready, "Kirito, we're going to have to go fast…"

"Got it." My brother responded as he quickly took Leafa's hand and held it tightly, "I'm sorry about this Leafa."

"Sorry about wha-"

Before she could even finish, the two of us began sprinting in high speeds. The monsters blurred past me and those caught in the blade died instantly. Kirito followed right behind me, dragging Leafa behind him like she was a wagon. In fact, we were going so fast, that her lightweight avatar is actually flailing in the air.

"Whaa!" Leafa screamed behind me, "Slow down!"

We didn't listen to her. Instead, we picked up the pace. Seconds later, I began seeing a faint light from the end of the tunnel. Soon the exit of the tunnel revealed itself. The light outside seemed blinding but I kept going.

"The exit is right ahead! Let's go!" I shouted behind me.

The two of us began running even faster while Leafa's screams only got louder. I broke through one last wall of monsters before we entered the light of day. I ran off the edge of a very high cliff and quickly summoned my wings. I looked down and saw that the ground was at least fifty meters below me. Since when did we get so high up in altitude? I thought Lugrue was way underground, yet the tunnel we took didn't even go upwards. Or maybe the land here is naturally lower than the rest. Well, it doesn't matter anymore.

Kirito and Leafa also got out of the cave with the monsters right behind them. They too began falling down the cliff and quickly summoned their wings to match my level. When we all looked back, we saw the monsters attacking us start running off the cliff only to fall to their deaths. Now since I wasn't busy getting out of the cave, I can see what they really looked like. They were ape-like creatures with huge wooden clubs. They wore a loincloth and toga-like armor which covered their fur. Their red eyes turned back to normal as we got out of their attack range.

"That took years of my life!" Leafa exclaimed.

"But at least we made it out." Kirito responded while smiling. The conversation suddenly stopped when we all looked ahead of us.

In front of us but still at a great distance, stood the World Tree Yggdrasil. It towered over every landscape here in Alfheim and went past even the clouds of the sky. The top of the tree was barely visible through the clouds. At the base of the tree, I spotted a stone-like structure covering a small portion of the base.

"Is that thing over there Alne?" I questioned Leafa, pointing at the structure.

"Thing where?" She looked towards where I pointed but seemed confused, "I can't see anything from here."

"I guess it's still too far away to see clearly. Even I am having trouble seeing it." Kirito admittedly claimed, "Anyways, where is the conference being held at? We're on a time limit, aren't we?"

Leafa nodded and pointed towards a small mountain range west of us. A myriad of plants and flowers blanketed the hilly landscape while a few plateaus jutted out from the mountain side.

"The Butterfly Valley is in that direction. The Salamander force should be coming southwest of us, unless they are already ahead."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

/

/

/

So, this chapter should have been finished a while ago especially since it really isn't that long. However, lately I've been having some depression issues and I've been struggling with some things such as my extreme pessimism, perfectionism and school work. I had a "fight" or "argument" with my artist so do not expect Zed, Konno, ViVi, Trish and Aqua to be drawn (maybe, ever). While I can draw myself, I cannot do so at the level where I am satisfied with it (such as the ones you see in my Google+). Once I draw something, 99.99% I will just throw it away and go into a depressing mood since that always happens when I start drawing stuff. I'm not asking for pity. I just feel like I should put it out here since it is a good reason why these FanFictions of mine deal with Light vs. Darkness and the struggles of life.


	6. Chapter 5: General of the Blazing Flame

**Twenty minutes later**

Due to our insanely high altitude, we've been rotating from gliding and flying constantly so we can get to the meeting as fast as possible. By now, our wings should have died out but it seems that we still have a few minutes left of flight. These few minutes could be the difference between saving the Sylph and Cait Sith lords, or letting them perish by the hands of the Salamanders. On the other hand, I see a plateau ahead of us. It was sort of an elevated island in the landscape, but it was connected to the rest of the terrain by a man-made bridge. And even though it is very high off the ground, there is still another plateau behind it that is at least twice its size. Maybe this place really is below sea level…

"There are sixty-eight players, right ahead of us!" Yui cried out, "Another fourteen is further ahead on that plateau."

"Sixty-eight players, right ahead of us!" Yui cried out, "Another fourteen is further ahead on the plateau."

"The fourteen must be the conference members and the delegates. Without a doubt, the sixty-eight players must be the Salamanders…" I mumbled.

I looked straight ahead of us, towards the plateau but saw nothing strange. I looked upwards to the sky to see if they were above, but all I saw was the blue sky. I finally managed to find the Salamander army when I looked downwards. The group of sixty-eight players looked like a swarm of insects flying in a rather messy formation. From the looks of it, they were heading straight for the conference meeting on top of the island plateau. They will probably reach them in a minute, yet we are still at least two minutes away.

"We're too late…" Leafa moped, "Thank you guys for bringing me here, but you should head to the World Tree right now. Even though it was short, the time I spent with you guys made me really happy."

Leafa gave us a warm smile that reminded me of Violet's smile. At the same time, the smile also reminded me of my cousin, Kirigaya Suguha. The smile she gave us whenever she appreciates help she receives from others. Even though Leafa wanted us to leave, both Kirito and I continued flying towards the location of conflict.

"Sorry Leafa, but it's not in my nature to run away." Kirito admitted. Instantly, he put Yui into his breast pocket and beat his wings hard, making him accelerate towards the platform.

"What are you—god he's so impatient sometimes." I complained, "Hey Leafa, do Imps and Spriggans have good relationships with each other?"

"Imps and Spriggans? From what I've heard, yes." Leafa stated.

Without even saying good bye, I flew past Leafa and swiftly caught up with my brother Kirito. The Salamander army has reached the conference sight now, so I need to tell him quick.

"Make up a bluff about an alliance between Imps and Spriggans. Maybe they may buy it." I suggested to him.

"Why can't you do it? You're the Nii anyway." Kirito complained.

"You will leave a bigger impact. Plus, I'm not good at persuasion or making impactful speeches. Now hurry up and get down there!" I grabbed Kirito's collar and pulled at it. His eyes widened as he realized what I was going to do.

"Katsumoto, don't you dare!"

I saw one of the Salamanders raise his hand, as if signaling to attack. And so, I made my move. I quickly tucked in my wings and dragged Kirito with me as we both fell down towards the plateau is almost Mach speed. Before we hit the ground, I quickly summoned my wings to reduce the damage I take from the fall. Even so, we made a rather large crater when we landed on the ground. Kirito managed to balance himself at the last second, so he too landed on his feet and not his face. A large cloud of dust covered us, giving us a little bit of time to recover.

"Someday, I'm going to get you back on that." Kirito coughed up dust.

"Be my guest. However, we have much, much bigger problems right now anyways." I told him.

"Yeah…"

The two of us recovered from our dangerous fall. The dust didn't want to disappear, and so I took off my cloak and began swinging it around, creating wind to blow it all away. The dust began clearing and I quickly put my cloak back on. With the dust cleared away, we are now visible to everyone around us. The Sylphs and Cait Sith behind us were bewildered at our appearance, and so were the Salamanders who were flying above us. I saw Leafa heading towards us, quietly landing on the plateau. My brother began walking towards the Salamanders and made a stern expression.

"This is an order to both sides… Put your weapons down!"

 **(Leafa)**

I hurried over to the group of Sylphs and Cait Sith who were distracted by the appearance of Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san. I searched the group for the person I was looking for and found her standing next to her Cait Sith friend. It was Sakuya, the Lord of the Sylphs. Right next to her is a smaller girl with cat ears and a tail. This is her friend Alicia Rue, the Lord of the Cait Sith.

"Sakuya!" I called out to the Sylph lord. She and Alicia swiftly turned around and noticed my presence.

"Leafa? What are you doing here? No… The better question is what in the world is going on here?" the Sylph lord questioned me.

"It is really hard to explain. But there is one thing I know for sure…" I pointed towards Mortifer and Kirito, who stood side-by-side, showing no fear to the numerous Salamanders they faced, "Our fate rests in their hands."

We all watched as both the Imp and Spriggan flew up to face the Salamander army, weapons sheathed, but posture remained firm, especially Mortifer's whose face showed absolutely no fear. I could say the same for Kirito if I didn't notice him fidgeting his hands.

"I would like to speak with your leader." Kirito announced out to the Salamander forces.

Chatter and mumbling sounded from the Salamander army. At the center of it all, a large group of the sixty-eight players parted and revealed a very unique looking Salamander. The size of his body could possibly match a Gnome's. The large, and muscular features of it makes a perfect tank. His scarlet armor was outlined with some sort of gold metal, unlike the rest of the warriors. Although it wasn't as menacing or visible as his other features, the small golden wreath he wore on his head is probably the most impactful. Those wreaths are worn by Salamanders of really, _really_ high ranking.

"What is a Spriggan and an Imp doing at a place like this?" the Salamander bellowed in a deep voice, "I'll kill the both of you regardless of your answers, but because of your bravery, I will listen to you until the end.

"My name is Kirito. This man is Mortifer. We are ambassadors for the Spriggan-Imp alliance. And by attacking this place, I am assuming you desire a war with all four races?"

My mouth dropped open at his words. Sakuya and Alicia looked at me but I waved my hands frantically, expressing to them that even I have no clue what they're saying. They must be lying, right? After all, Mortifer did ask me about Imp and Spriggan relationships earlier. Even though there was a chance that the Imps and Spriggans are not on good terms, Mortifer still took it.

"A Spriggan-Imp alliance?" the Salamander commander mumbled. He then gave out an incredulous smile, "And the two of you, without a single guard, are ambassadors?"

"The two of us are brothers. We are both powerful enough to not require any bodyguards, and we have personally told our Lords and government that we do not want them." Mortifer decided to speak up.

"We are here to negotiate trade terms with the Sylphs and Cait Sith. Disrupting the talks will only make matters worse for you." Kirito intimidated the Salamander, "If you do interrupt, then the four races will ally against the Salamanders."

"There are only two of you, and you both wear crappy gear. You can't expect me to believe such a thing." The Salamander then proceeded to unsheathe his weapon. He held it firmly with two hands and pointed it towards Mortifer and Kirito. "Only one of you, withstand my assault for thirty seconds. Maybe then I will believe your words."

"That's very generous of you." Kirito thanked the Salamander. He began drawing out his own sword until Mortifer stopped him mid-way.

The two brothers conversed quietly. From their facial expressions, I could tell they seemed to be arguing. Finally, Mortifer decided to back away and he flew down to stand beside me, He then sat on the ground and sprawled himself on the dirt.

"This would go by so much faster if he just let me handle it…" Mortifer muttered quietly, "Jeez… What a drag."

Both Sakuya and Alicia stared at weird Imp in wonder. I also stared at the man, completely bewildered. Mortifer's expression looked completely fearless and relaxed. In fact, he seemed more bored than anything else which doesn't make sense if you look at the situation we are in. After a bit, we all went back to watching the fight that is about to occur.

"Oh dear… This is not good…" Sakuya whispered, "That Salamander's weapon. I've seen it on a website that reviews legendary weapons of MMORPGs. It's the _Demonic Sword Gram._ I heard that you need a  Two-Handed sword skill of at least nine-hundred and fifty to equip it."

"Nine-hundred and fifty?" I exclaimed, "That's basically Completed!"

"Hmm… Rizer would love a sword like that" Mortifer muttered below me, still lying down on the ground.

"If he wields such a weapon, then he must be _General Eugene_. Do you know of him Leafa?"

"I've heard of the name, but I don't know much about him." I admitted, "Who is he?"

"He is the younger brother of the current Salamander Lord, Mortimer." Sakuya continued explaining, "Rumors say that they are brothers in real-life. While Mortimer is a brilliant strategist, his fighting capabilities don't even come close to being prestigious. However, his brother is Eugene is there to make up for his lack of physical power. According to many sources, _General Eugene_ is said to be the Salamander's strongest warrior. And with Salamanders basically being the strongest race…"

"No way… He's the strongest player?!"

"This is extremely bad. I am afraid we will not get out of this cleanly." Sakuya worried.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Mortifer yawned below me, "My brother's got this, but if he does get into a hot spot, tell him to take my sword."

We all looked at the sleeping Imp dumbfoundedly. How can he be so relaxed when his brother is facing the strongest player in the game? And if I recall correctly, the _Demonic Sword Gram_ is the second strongest weapon in the game, only beaten by the _Holy Sword Excalibur._ Does he really care for his brother if he's just going to let him fight the strongest player in the game?

I went back to look at the fight. Both the Spriggan and Salamander hovered a distance away from each other, each holding their weapons firmly. And as if he were moving in Mach speed, the Salamander rushed Kirito and did an overhead swing with his legendary weapon. Kirito's reaction time was extremely fast. Fast enough that he had already raised his sword to block the attack. But when both blades should have collided against each other, the _Demonic Sword Gram_ seemed to turn into vapor and passed right through the block. It materialized behind Kirito's guard and landed a direct hit on him, sending Kirito flying into a rock face.

"What in the world was that?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

" _Ethereal Shift_. The unique ability of the _Demonic Sword Gram_. When someone tries to block with a sword or shield, _Gram_ will simply phase through it." Alicia explained to me, "To put it simply, it is impossible to block attacks coming from that sword."

"That's overpowered!" I exclaimed.

"Just use your fists then, or just dodge the attacks." Mortifer commented, "The guy is using a two-handed sword. His attacks are heavy and powerful, but they are also sluggish. How hard can it be to dodge something that slow?"

"Leafa, who is this man?" Sakuya questioned me.

"He's… an enigma…" I sighed as I went back to watching the fight.

I looked at the rock face that Kirito was sent flying towards. A dust cloud had formed and Kirito burst out from it, flying straight to his Salamander enemy. They both locked swords but Kirito pushed Eugene back. I could see their mouths moving but I couldn't tell what they were saying. The two of them continued their fighting. The noise of their swords sounded throughout the entire valley. Although Kirito did his best dodging and parrying, Eugene still managed to cut a huge gash on across Kirito's chest. Kirito flew away from the Salamander and observed his wound. Kirito's health is still a little bit above half, while Eugene's was basically untouched.

"Hey, hey! Thirty seconds have passed already." Kirito remarked.

"Sorry, but I've decided to kill you now. Your next challenge is to survive from getting your head chopped off." Eugene laughed arrogantly.

"This guy… I'll make you regret it!" Kirito shouted at him.

The two went right back to fighting each other. Never have I ever witnessed a fight of this level. Even though I myself am one of the top fighters in the Sylphs, and even though I do kendo and have gone to the nationals, I have never seen a sword fight such as this one.

"The situation is not going into our favor." Sakuya spoke grimly, "Although that Spriggan has proven he is strong and experienced, his equipment's performance is far worse than Eugene's."

Sakuya's words left me speechless. Although she is correct about Kirito's equipment being inferior to Eugene's, deep down inside of me, I knew that he could do it. If he can take down all those Salamanders from when we got attacked at the Lugrue Corridor, then surely, he must be able to win here and now. Mortifer sitting there idly is also giving me hope, since it tells me that he too believes that his brother can win this fight.

I continued spectating the fight, and watched as Kirito took several light hits from the Salamander general. He then quickly flew off, making Eugene give chase to him. He would've caught up until Kirito suddenly casted the magic spell _Smokescreen_. The whole area around us became covered in a thick black smoke. Everyone began coughing as some of the black smoke entered our lungs.

"I told you to let me handle to fight!" I heard Mortifer's voice shout.

"Hey! I didn't know this guy would be _that_ strong! Even you will probably have a hard time!" Kirito's voice complained.

"As if! Now go and finish this already!" The sound of a sword being drawn from its sheathe reverberated through the air, followed by the sound of someone taking off from the ground via wings.

"Are you trying to delay the inevitable?" Eugene's voice called out from the black fog. Suddenly, a burst of red light emitted from the center of the smoke and caused the _Smokescreen_ spell to fade away.

I looked towards Mortifer, who is lying on the ground again, fake-sleeping. I scanned the area but found no traces of Kirito. Everyone was searching for the Spriggan but found absolutely nothing.

"Did he run away?" one of the Cait Sith ambassadors commented. Just hearing that comment made me snap.

"Definitely not!" I yelled back at him, making everyone jump in surprise, "He would never run… Kirito-kun would never…"

The recent memory of the ambush in the Lugrue Corridor replayed in my head. That was the first time I've ever seen someone take the game so seriously. The moment right before Kirito massacred those Salamanders, he said those words:

 _"_ _As long as I stand… As long as I still have even the slightest hint of life in me… I refuse to let any party members die… I won't let that happen ever again"_ I clasped my hands to my chest and began praying. I believe in Kirito-kun. He would never run away like that. If he really did run away, Mortifer-san wouldn't be here. They must've planned something.

"Twin blades shall rain death from above." I heard Mortifer speak as if he were reciting something from a book.

I looked at the Imp questioningly and so did everyone else. Suddenly, I heard a noise above me, the sound of a projectile. I looked up and saw a black dot against the bright yellow sun. Although all I could see was his silhouette, I knew that it was Kirito.

"Kirito-kun!" I happily shouted out to him.

The Salamander whom Kirito had been fighting also noticed him and flew upwards to meet up with him. The two held their weapons ready and met each other. Eugene performed and overhand swing which passed through Kirito's guard. Just before the sword hit, the sound of metal against metal rung in the air. Kirito had drawn out another sword, Mortifer's sword. He unsheathed the second weapon so fast, I barely managed to catch the movement with my eyes.

"While watching the two of them fight, I was wondering…" Mortifer began as he sat up, "A sword that can break through blocks is rather overpowered, especially if it is a two-handed sword. If a sword that strong has an ability that lets it pass through blocks, there must be some sort of weakness to it. Although it seems absurd to even think about it in a fantasy game, I was right about the science of that sword."

"W-What do you mean?" I questioned Mortifer.

"The sword turns into a gaseous vapor when it passes through blocks. Gasses are the most unstable form of matter since the particles are so far away from each other. A hard metal that sublimes into a gas and then quickly solidifying back? The sudden change in matter and particles disrupt the chemistry of the sword. Basically, the sword can only pass through one thing at a time before it goes on a short cooldown to go back to its original properties.

"All I needed was that last sentence. You could've omitted the rest." I complained to the Imp who simply ignored me. I sighed and went back to watching the fight.

Using his second blade, Kirito blocked Eugene's attacks and deflected the blade outwards, leaving the Salamander wide open for an attack. Kirito took this opportunity and unleashed a barrage of attacks, severely damaging Eugene. Midway through the attack, Eugene spoke a quick incantation and a fiery shield formed to protect him. His shield exploded when Kirito attacked it and gave the two of them some distance.

'Die!" Eugene's voice shattered the air.

He rushed Kirito and attempted to finish off the match, but the Spriggan dodged the attack with ease. He then pierced the Salamander all the way through his armor with both swords. Eugene's health dropped to the red zone and continued dropping drastically. Kirito then finished Eugene off by retracting both of his swords and slicing him into two pieces.

The burning corpse of the Salamander general fell slowly to the forest grounds below us. His avatar began slowly forming into a Remain Light. At that moment, silence fell throughout the entire area. Nobody spoke. The event that just transpired was near unfathomable.

In ALfheim Online, fighting is a graceless brandishing of weapons at close-range or the repeated use of spells from afar. Both would prove to be very dull without even a hint of skill. Defense and evasion are things that veteran players would do. In fact, only in the final rounds of tournaments are places you will see such a thing. But the fight that transpired broke both boundaries. High-speed flight. Elegant and precise evasion and blocking. Eugene's cataclysmic weapon and power. And last but most certainly not least, Kirito's lightning speed dual-wielding, which annihilated Eugene and his _Legendary Weapon_. These are elements of a battle worth remembering for years to come. In the end, the silence was broken by Sakuya's cries.

"Marvelous! Splendid!"

"Wow! Nice fight!" Alicia also shouted.

Soon everyone, even the enemy Salamanders, applauded for the Spriggan's unbelievable victory. I have always thought the Salamanders to be enemies, but now I know that they are just like me: a player of ALO.

Filled with euphoria, I clasped my hands together and smiled as I watched the victorious Spriggan descend towards us. Mortifer met up with his brother and took back his sword. He then grabbed his head and ruffled his hair.

"Will you stop it?" Kirito complained. He broke free from Mortifer's grip and fixed his hair. He then headed towards Sakuya and revealed to her Eugene's Remain Light. He then asked her, "Will you please use revival magic or some sort of revival item?"

"Are you sure?" Sakuya questioned the Spriggan, who simply nodded in response, "Very well…"

The beautiful Sylph lord walked over to the red Remain Light of General Eugene. Although she seemed unhappy with it, she revived the Salamander without hesitation. Out from the flames, the same bulky figure of Eugene rose. He stretched his arms and legs while also cracking his neck. He then slowly turned to face Kirito, who is standing beside me and Mortifer.

"You have extraordinary skill. You're the strongest player I've ever seen." Eugene admitted, "I never knew there was someone like you amongst the Spriggans. I guess this world is bigger than I thought."

"Thank you for the praise. So, do you believe my story now?" Kirito questioned him.

Eugene suddenly narrowed his eyes, becoming completely silent. The tense vibe returned. We waited patiently for Eugene's answer. If he doesn't believe it, I don't know what will happen.

"I have but no choice to believe you." Eugene finally answered with a bellow, "It is true that our leader doesn't want anything to do with the Spriggans and Imps, especially with them being so close to us. Even so, your Imp brother here has yet to prove his strength to me."

"Believe me when I say this, but there is no way that I could beat my brother in sword fighting. He's levels beyond both of us." Kirito told the Salamander, making Mortifer grin a little bit from the praise.

"We will fall back for now. I wish to fight you again someday Spriggan. Bring that Imp along with you too. Your statement just now made me curious about his strength."

"I could say the same to you." Kirito answered while holding his fist out.

The Salamander smiled and raised his fist as well. They both fist bumped each other, having a moment of bonding. Eugene then flew off and signaled for his forces to retreat. I approached Kirito and Mortifer while observing the Salamanders fly away.

"I guess not all Salamanders are bad guys." Kirito marveled.

"You guys are crazy." I laughed at them.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Kirito laughed as well.

While the two of us laughed, Mortifer started walking towards the edge of the cliff and sat down on it. Meanwhile, Sakuya and Alicia approached us from behind and cleared their throats, catching our attention.

"Sorry to interrupt, but would you mind explaining to us what is happening?"

 **Half an hour later**

I explained to Sakuya the whole entire thing. I told her about what happened to our party last night when we got attacked by Kagemune's Sylph hunting squad, and how Sigurd acted as a decoy which is completely out of his character. I told her what Recon had told me earlier about how he found out Sigurd was working with the Salamanders. And to make sure they could trust Mortifer and Kirito, I told her how I had met them and how they saved me. From the looks of it now, it seems they trust my new companions.

"I see… So, that's what happened." Sakuya mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, "For the past few months Sigurd's attitude has become somewhat irritated."

"Irritated? About what?" I asked her.

"Most likely because of our current standing. He can't stand being below the Salamanders in terms of power." she stated, "Sigurd is a man driven by power. Both in his character's strength and political power as a player. For a long time, he's noticed that we were falling behind the Salamanders in terms of strength and influence in the game. It seems he deal with it anymore."

"So, then why did he spy for the Salamanders?"

"Did you hear anything about the next update? There is rumored to be a Rebirth System."

A shocking truth suddenly came to me. A Rebirth System? If you could reincarnate to a different race…

"Wait, then that means!" I realized.

"That's right. Mortimer of the Salamanders must have struck a deal with Sigurd." Sakuya explained, "If he gave information about my plans to form an alliance with the Cait Sith, Mortimer would reincarnate Sigurd into a Salamander. However, knowing Mortimer through stories and past experiences, he wouldn't have held up his end of the deal anyway. With reincarnation being so expensive for a Lord, the likeliness of such a thing happening for Sigurd is slim to none."

"So… What will you do, Sakuya?" I questioned her.

Upon hearing this, Sakuya's beautiful, natural smiling face faded and transformed into that of a very serious person. Her green eyes shined in the setting sun, hiding a feeling I could not determine.

"Rue, you've been practicing your Dark Magic, right?" Sakuya asked her.

The Cait Sith lord moved her large cat-like ears back and forth and gave out a sound of affirmation whilst nodding her head.

"Will you open a _Moonlight Mirror_ to Sigurd?" Sakuya requested.

"Hmm…" Alicia wondered as she looked at the sun, "I can do it, but it won't be for long. Since we're in broad daylight, I can't hold it for long."

"Do not worry. This won't take long…" Sakuya's eyes seemed to burn with anger but her face or body did not show any of it.

Rue began an incantation. It was one I have never heard of before. Soon, a black sphere surrounded all of us. In a flash of white, a single gold ornament mirror appeared before us. The image in the mirror twisted like a whirlpool until it began forming an image. It appeared to be an office. One of many in the Sylph capital building. The green theme of the room fit the typical Sylph abode. There was a single large desk and a chair with its back turned. There was a slight laughter and the chair turned around. Sigurd sat there, smiling evily and holding a glass of wine.

"Sigurd!" Sakuya called out to the traitorous Sylph.

This surprised Sigurd so much that he dropped the glass of wine, staining the floor and breaking the fragile glass item. The Sylph man looked in front of us and noticed the _Moonlight Mirror_. He got up from his chair and looked at us, completely confused.

"S-Sakuya?" Sigurd spoke questioningly.

"Indeed. Unfortunately, I'm still alive."

"W-Why? I-I mean… How was the meeting?" Sigurd kept stuttering. I watched his face start sweating.

"It concluded successfully, though the signing of the treaty will be held off until tomorrow." Sakuya stated, looking towards Alicia for confirmation who nodded in return, "Also, we had an unexpected guest."

"A g-guest?"

"General Eugene of the Salamanders sends his regards."

This statement completely threw off Sigurd, and his gaze turned towards me. A look of hatred grew in his eyes and I glared back at him. He must also be looking at Kirito and Mortifer who are standing right behind me.

"So, what will you do now Sakuya?" Sigurd spoke with a predatory smile, "Take my money? Kick me out of the government? I am quite well-known amongst the Sylphs and some even idolize me. If you do anything to me, I wonder how much your political power will change…"

"Indeed, I don't know what will happen to my power. However, in terms of your punishment, I am doing none of those things you have listed. In fact, if you can't stand being a Sylph, I'll grant you your wish." Sakuya stated as she opened her menu.

Numerous windows I have never seen before appeared before my eyes. These windows and options are exclusive to the Lords of the race. She tinkered with it until she found one specific option and selected it. Through the mirror, a blue message appeared in front of Sigurd. He began reading the message. Instantly, his eyes grew wide with shock.

"B-Banishment?!" he exlciamed, "You're banishing me?!"

"Yes. You will become a renegade and wander in the neutral zone." Sakuya informed him with a smile, "Knowing you however, I'm sure you can find something fun to do in this game. Farewell, Sigurd."

"You… You bitc-"

Before he could utter his final curse to Sakuya, Sigurd disappeared from the room. He must've been teleported to a random neutral city that isn't Alne. Sakuya let out a long sigh and the mirror faded, as well as the black sphere that had covered us.

"Sakuya…" I called out to her, knowing full well how she feels right now. She dismissed her menu and looked at me with a reassuring smile.

"Whether my judgement was right or not will be decided on the next election for the Sylph Lord." Sakuya spoke, "Thank you Leafa, for coming here to rescue me. And Alicia, sorry for getting you into so much danger."

"Don't worry Sakuya-chan! We survived so it doesn't matter!" The Cait Sith reassured her with a bright smile on her face.

"You shouldn't really be thanking me either Sakuya." I told her, shaking my head. I then pointed to Kirito and Mortifer, "You should thank these two since they're the ones who saved us all."

Both Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san smiled nervously at the Lords and waved in their direction. Mortifer took a few steps back and turned around, heading towards the end of the plateau before taking a seat at the edge.

"Yes, it is true that those two really saved us. The Spriggan more than the Imp." Sakuya admitted, "But, who are you two?"

"Hey." Alicia called out to Kirito who turned his gaze towards her, "That thing you said, about the Spriggan-Imp alliance, was it true?"

We all stared at the Spriggan, waiting for an answer. I however already knew the answer to the question. After all, Mortifer asked me about the Spriggan-Imp relationships before we confronted the Salamanders.

"Oh, that was just a big fat lie. A complete bluff we came up with for negotiating." Kirito proudly admitted. The Lords and their followers dropped their mouths open, at a complete loss of words. The faces the two beautiful Lords' expressions made me want to laugh.

"What an insane man. To come up with such a crazy thing in that situation..." Sakuya mumbled facepalming herself.

"It was Mortifer's idea but I probably would've done the same thing. Whenever I get a bad hand I always raise the pot!" The Spriggan bragged.

Suddenly, Alicia approached Kirito and looked at his face from close-up. She held a mischievous smile on her face as she observed the Spriggan from a few centimeters away.

"For a big liar, you're pretty strong." Alicia complimented him, "Are you perhaps the Spriggans' secret weapon?"

"No, not a chance. I'm just an ordinary wandering Spriggan mercenary for hire. If you want strength, you can talk to Mortifer over there." Kirito admitted, pointing to his brother who sat on the edge of the plateau we were on.

"Modest _and_ strong?" Rue exclaimed. She began laughing loudly and grabbed Kirito's left arm. She pulled herself closer to him to the point where there was no space between them, "Hey Spriggan… If you aren't tied down, why don't you come over to my place and become a mercenary for the Cait Sith? You can get three meals a day, plus snacks and a nap."

I gasped, shocked at Alicia's words. Is she trying to hit on Kirito? That's what it looks like to me. And for some weird reason, I felt my cheeks start to blush at seeing Alicia get so close to Kirito. It only became worse when Sakuya took Kirito's free arm. She also pulled herself closer to him. Kirito's arm was now enveloped inside of the two Lords, clothes and bodies.

"Your name was Kirito-kun, right? What do you say?" Sakuya seductively whispered to Kirito, "I've taken quite an interest in you. How about the two of us go back to Swilvane and grab a drink? Hmm?"

"W-Wait…" I tried to stop them but Alicia began ranting.

"That's not fair Sakuya-chan!" Alicia complained, "No seducing!"

"Aren't you being a bit hypocritical? You're clinging onto him so much, it's like you're a piece of clothing he is wearing!"

After that comment, my mind broke. I uncontrollably grabbed Kirito's coat from behind, getting the attention from all three of them as well as the people around us. I caught a glimpse of Mortifer, who was now sitting up and looking back at us. Out of anger and lack of self-control, I tugged hard against Kirito's coat, hoping to free him from the grasp of the Lords.

"Stop it, now!" I shouted at the Lords, "Kirito-kun is my… He's my…"

My voice faltered as I realized what I was about to say. Why am I not saying that he's my partner? I said it before to Sigurd and I had no problem, yet here I am, hesitating to say such a simple word. Wait no… Partner wasn't the word I wanted to say to the Lords. It was some other word, with a deeper meaning than partner. Maybe that's why I hesitated. After all, I have yet to figure out my feelings with someone else in the real world. Realizing that I could not fight back against the two beautiful Lords, I let go of Kirito's jacket. I slowly backed away, slightly embarrassed.

"I appreciate your offers, but Leafa promised to take me to the World Tree Yggdrasil. I'm really sorry." Kirito finally spoke up, relieving me a little bit.

"Oh, is that so? Well that's a shame. You're going to Alne Leafa? Is it for sightseeing?" Sakuya asked, "Or is it…"

"Well, I was planning on leaving the Sylphs, but now I've decided that I'm going to return to Swilvane though I still do not know when that will happen." I told her with a smile, hoping she wouldn't be as mad.

"Ah, I see. Completely understandable. I'm relieved at knowing you will be planning on coming back. Make sure you do when the time comes, and bring this Spriggan along with you." Sakuya smiled warmly.

"Make sure you stop by our place!" Alicia exclaimed, "We'll throw you two a party."

"Oh, you're forgetting my brother again." Kirito said as he pointed behind him. We looked at the direction his finger was pointing only to see nothing, "Wait… Where did he go?"

Everyone looked around for the missing Imp and saw nothing. Mortifer, who I had just seen not too long ago walking towards us, is now gone. I looked at the edge of the plateau but saw nobody sitting there. There was nobody lying down on the ground either, nor anybody flying in the air. I was about to take off and go search for him when I saw Kirito's gaze fixate on the cliff side behind us. His shoulders slumped and his facial expression showed that he was slightly annoyed or bothered by something.

"What the hell is he doing?" Kirito asked as he pointed towards the cliff side. Everyone turned and saw what he was looking at.

The enormous, flat cliff side rose higher than the plateau we stood on. However, that didn't stop a lone figure from attempting to climb the rock face with his bare hands, even when us fairies have wings that would effortlessly get us to the top of the cliff he was climbing. While I was a bit flustered and slightly annoyed at his stupid actions, I was also quite mesmerized and surprised since he managed to get so high up when he's climbing such a smooth rock face. We continued to watch him climb until he suddenly stopped climbing. His feet were not planted onto the cliff. He then released one of his handholds on the cliff so he was now dangling with one arm. He slowly turned his body until he faced us once again.

"You know, I can sense you guys staring at me. I also heard your conversations halt." Mortifer shouted from high up the cliff.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kirito shouted out to his brother.

"I got bored. There's not enough action around here for me. I also want to get a nice view of the sunset without using my wings." He responded, pointing towards the setting sun.

I giggled a little bit at how easily bored the man becomes, but I couldn't argue with him about the sunset. The orange sky on the horizon blending with the scarlet-violet sky right above us was truly an amazing sight. Since we were in the Butterfly Valley, groups of butterflies fluttered around the sky with the birds and disappeared into the forest or the skies above. While we all admired the sunset, Mortifer kicked off the cliff he was climbing. He surprisingly managed to land at the plateau despite the large distance between the two natural land formations.

"I'm not trying to be rude, but can we head out now?" Mortifer asked, "I want to get as far as possible before the day's over. It's getting late anyways."

"I am completely fine with that. If our conversation lingers longer, then we are only slowing you guys down." Sakuya admitted.

"So, I guess this is good bye for now?" I asked the Lords.

"I guess so." Alicia smiled.

"Thank you so much Leafa, Kirito-kun, and Mortifer-san, for coming to save us today." Sakuya began, "Had we fallen the, the gap between the Salamanders and the Sylphs would have become insurmountable. I would like to thank you in some way shape or form."

"No, it was nothing really." Kirito laughed nervously.  
"Hey Sakuya… Alicia…" I began, "Wasn't the goal of this alliance was to help each other venture up the World Tree?"

"Yes, ultimately. We agreed that whichever race becomes an Alf, they would have to help the other race in the next Grand Quest."

"Then, would you mind if we accompany you guys during your ascent up the World Tree? We also want to do it as soon as possible."

The two Lords looked at each other questioningly. Alicia nodded at Sakuya who then smiled.

"We have no objection. In fact, we would love for you guys to join us in raiding the World Tree. But may I ask something? Why are in such a hurry to get to the World Tree and attempt the Grand Quest?"

I looked at Kirito and Mortifer who is the main reason why we are trying to rush over to Alne. If I remember correctly, it was Mortifer who said he was helping his brother get to somewhere, so the question Sakuya asked is mainly directed towards Kirito. Kirito noticed this too and looked down to the ground. Mortifer simply stood beside him with a sympathetic look on his face.

"I came to this world to reach the top of the World Tree, all in order to meet someone who may be up there." Kirito explained.

"Is it the _Fairy King Oberon_?" Sakuya questioned.

"No… At least I don't think so… It is someone who I cannot meet in the real world. Someone who I can only contact here in the game. I have to go see them no matter what."

"Well, it will probably take time to prepare all the raid members' equipment for the Grand Quest." Alicia began, "We would need to send out information to every one of our soldiers who are capable of playing. Since it is still a weekday, some people have school. If we wanted a full party, it would take us three days to four days. The minimum time is probably two days, but our forces will be a little bit smaller."

"I-I see…" Kirito muttered out. His expression showed pain or irritation, probably since the Sylph and Cait Sith armies can't mobilize faster, "That's true. For now, my goal is to reach the tree itself. Once we all gather there, we can work it out ourselves. Oh right! I'll give you my money to add to your war chest."

Kirito opened his menu and entered his inventory. He materialized out a large brown drawstring bag and began walking to the Lords before Mortifer suddenly stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey, let me give them the money." Mortifer argued, "I have more funds than you, plus I feel like I'm being completely useless right now since you didn't let me fight that Salamander."

"Ugh, fine…" Kirito exasperated as he took back his bag.

Mortifer opened his own inventory and materialized two large drawstring bags. Both were brown, just like the one Kirito had earlier. He walked over to Sakuya and Alicia, who both tried to take one of the bags from Mortifer, only to drop it right away. The sound of the bag falling made my mind grew alert of just how much Yrd was inside the bag. The bags were so heavy, the rocky ground beneath crumbled slightly. Mortifer, who carried the bags with ease, watched as the Lords struggled to lift the bags off the ground. Is this man really that strong in the real world?

"What in the world?" Sakuya exclaimed, bewildered by the bags and Mortifer's strength. She opened the bag and her mouth dropped open. Alicia opened her bag as well, and she made the same expression.

"What?! Impossible!" Alicia yelled.

"There are so many mithril Yrd coins!" Sakuya exclaimed, "With this many, you could buy a large castle on prime land! Just how did you manage to get this much money Imp-san?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." Mortifer responded, "But those bags contain two-hundred-fifty billion Yrd each. Please use it however you wish. I'm not exactly sure how much you can do with that, but I hope it is enough."

"Are you kidding me?!" Alicia shouted, "This is beyond what we need! We could equip our entire armies with ancient-class equipment and still have enough to pay for five more raids. We can even use this to improve our economy and expand our territories even farther than the Salamanders."

"This should greatly help us in mobilizing our forces. It is highly likely that we can be ready to raid the World Tree tomorrow if you guys so wish. When we are, we'll call you and we can aim for the top of the World Tree together." Sakuya added in.

"That's good to know." Kirito smiled warmly.

"Let's add each other on our friends' list so we can contact each other right away." Mortifer suggested as he opened his menu and scrolled over to send a friend request to the Lords who did not hesitate to accept it.

"I guess we'll head back home to prepare for this raid. You guys need to get to the World Tree, yes? We'll say good bye now so you can go on ahead with your adventure." Sakuya declared.

She and her Sylph followers summoned their wings and began hovering above the ground. Alicia Rue and her Cait Sith followers joined them in the air as well. The Lords struggled to hold the bags of money Mortifer had given them, making them give it to two of their followers instead. They also struggled but it seemed that they can all carry it back to their territories without worry.

"Thank you!" Alicia shouted out to us, "I hope to see you soon!"

The three of us waved at the fourteen players as they flew away towards the south, where the Butterfly Valley connected Cait Sith territory to the central plains around the World Tree. When they began disappearing over the mountains and cliffs around us, I approached Kirito from behind so I could whisper to him.

"You know, it kind of feels like none of that really happened. The Salamander army's attack and your battle with Eugene." I told Kirito.

He didn't respond and simply kept smiling, as he continued watching the Cait Sith and Sylphs alliance representatives fly away. I smiled as well and rested my head on his shoulders. That's when Yui suddenly popped out of Kirito's jacket and began speaking.

"Honestly…" she groaned, "I told you no cheating Papa!"

Both Kirito and I backed away from the little Navigation Pixie, who flew out of Kirito's pocket and found a resting spot on Mortifer's head who simply smiled at her.

"W-What are you talking about?!" Kirito questioned her.

"When those female Lords were clinging to you, your heart began pounding like crazy." Yui scolded him.

"W-Well, I'm a guy! It's natural for guys to react like that when pretty girls get that close to them." Kirito complained. Mortifer began laughing.

"Did I hear you say pretty?!" Mortifer exclaimed with a goofy smile on his face, "Oh I can't wait to tell-"

"No, no, no!" Kirito quickly put in, "It's not like that."

"Jeez…" Yui groaned.

Hearing them talking about Kirito's actions when Sakuya and Alicia had flirted with him made me curious. Curious as to how he reacts to me whenever I am with him. After all, I am a girl and his first friend here in ALfheim Online…

"Hey… Yui-chan…" I began to ask her, "Am I not a problem towards Kirito-kun?"

"Hmm… You don't seem to influence Papa. You're completely fine from the looks of it." Yui told me, effectively shocking me.

"W-What? Why?!"

The three of us looked at the Spriggan so we could listen to his answer for my question. Kirito put his hand to his chin and began thinking up of an answer. He then tilted his head and smiled at me as he told me:

"It doesn't really feel like you're a girl to me."

My face turned red with embarrassment which quickly changed to anger. Mortifer did his best to stifle his laugh, but even then, I was about ready to create a large bruise on his face or some other part on his body.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I shouted as I stomped my way towards Kirito. I put my hand on the hilt of my sheathed sword and began drawing it out, causing Kirito to slowly back away.

"No, no! I meant to say that you are easy to get along with, in a good way. Yeah!" Kirito quickly said before jumping and flying away from me, "N-Never mind that Leafa! Let's get going to Alne, or else the sun will set on us!"

"H-Hey wait!" I called out to him as I put my sword back into its sheathe and summoned my wings.

I took off from the plateau and chased after the Spriggan. I heard Mortifer violently take off behind me and quickly pass me like a bullet being shot out from a gun. Next thing we knew, he was far ahead, waving back at us. Kirito scratched his head and looked back at me. He gave me a smile whilst laughing nervously at Mortifer's actions. I simply laughed as the both of us accelerated to catch up with the nimble Imp. As the sun set on the horizon, I looked up at the World Tree, which casted its huge shadow on the land around it. I could now see Alne as its night lights began turning on and as the sunlight reflected against the infrastructure. This really is such a beautiful alternate world.


	7. Chapter 6: A Visit to Asuna

**(Mortifer)**

 **Half an hour later,** **Alne**

If I were to describe every detail of the city before me, it would take me hours. The city wrapped around half of Yggdrasil, and was built into one of its roots. Before you enter the city, there is an enormous bridge-like pathway leading directly to the upper portion of the city, which rests on the side and on top of the tree's roots. The bottom portion of the city was designed like a terraced plateau, with houses aligning the edges of each level and staircases leading to a higher level. There was an upper level which I couldn't see clearly due our current location, but it seemed to be more of an open field filled with nature. The numerous trees that aligned the outer edges of this upper level acted like a natural wall which nobody could see through. I barely managed to spot a platform hanging off from the root of the tree, with yet another portion of the city resting on top of it. Not only that, since we had just come from the darkness of Jötunheimr, the city's lights were absolutely blinding. The lights shone like a beacon for anything and everything in the plains of Alne, showing them the location of the city during the night. And when I look up to the sky, it seems as though the tree itself is piercing the heavens above us, since clouds blocked whatever is above us. I can't even see the branches of the tree at all.

Upon entering through the gates, we found ourselves on top of a bridge. What I had thought was the lower level was merely the middle one, since there was another portion of the city below us. The biggest city of Sword Art Online, the Town of Beginnings, seems like an ant compared to Alne. It would make sense since this game has a flight engine, offering faster travel. Since you only have your feet in SAO and maybe domesticated animals such as horses, the world is much, much smaller than that of ALO. This city alone could house every single player of Sword Art Online, and still have many vacant spots.

"The World Tree… it's massive" Kirito said in awe as he looked up at Yggdrasil.

"Yes, it is. And there's no question about it. This is Alne!" Leafa exclaimed, "It's my first time coming here, to the center of ALfheim, the capital of the entire world."

"Yeah… We're finally here."

"I've never been to a city this size before." Yui spoke up as she exited out of Kirito's shirt pocket.

"Me neither!" Leafa agreed, "The ore light coming from the roots and buildings of the city… It looks like stardust that's been scattered about in the air, providing light for the whole city."

"Yeah, my eyes are still adjusting from our trip in Jö tunheimr." I decided to speak up, "It would've been worse if it was day time right now."

"Agreed." Leafa laughed out as she too rubbed her eyes a bit.

Without warning, an immensely loud ringing sound traveled through the air and into our ears. The bell-like sound rang twice before fading away. That's when another sound reached our ears and probably everyone playing the game at this exact moment. It was a person's voice.

"The ALfheim Online servers will be down today, January 22, from four o' clock AM to three o' clock PM for a scheduled maintenance. All players are asked to log out ten minutes prior to the start of maintenance should a problem occur during the forced log out. We apologize for any inconveniences."

The announcer repeated the message once again in order to make sure every player currently online was able to receive and understand the message being sent to them. Half way through the message, Leafa yawned loudly and began stretching her arms and legs. She turned around towards us and gave me and Kirito another one of her warm smiles.

"I guess that's all for today, huh?" Leafa spoke, "Let's log out at an inn."

"Yeah… I guess…" Kirito responded quietly.

I looked at my brother due to his manner of responding. Although his face was rather plain, I could see a hint of irritation behind his eyes. I couldn't exactly blame him since he wants to rescue Asuna as soon as possible, and the server maintenance would only slow us down. However, the three of us have pulled an all-nighter, and even my in-game avatar is growing tired of traveling. When I looked back at the mountains we came from, it seemed so far away that I was amazed we traveled so far in just a day. Not to mention we also traveled the length of Swilvane to the entrance of the Lugrue Corridor. I could really use a good long sleep.

"Okay then, let's find an inn. Anywhere will do since we still have money." Kirito declared.

"Speaking of money, how much were you planning on giving Sakuya and Alicia?" I asked my brother.

"Well, I was planning on giving them every piece of Yrd I had."

"Then you're just lucky I am richer than you are." I told my brother whilst smirking.

"How did you guys get so much money in the first place anyway?" Leafa questioned us, "Aren't you guys new to this game? Players are supposed to start off with zero Yrd, yet you guys were able to buy the most expensive equipment in Swilvane without even blowing off that much of your balance."

"It's uh… A long story… And probably too complicated to explain as well, nor do we want to explain it." I told her.

"Hmm, okay then. It's none of my business anyway. Hey Yui-chan, where's the nearest inn?"

"It's that way!" Yui exclaimed, pointing to a staircase ahead of us leading to the lower level.

"I'm going to run on ahead." I yawned loudly, "It's almost four o' clock in the morning, and my real body's restlessness is getting me in the game right now. I need to get a good long sleep. See you Leafa!"

"Good bye Mortifer-san!"

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **Later that morning**

Of all the things that would disturb me in my wonderful sleep, a shrill scream from a girl outside was something I did not expect. I quickly sat up from my bed, still wearing the NerveGear since I logged out via sleeping. I removed the game device off my head and stood up from my bed. I stretched my arms and legs before heading over to the window. I pulled the curtains open, revealing the outside world. The streets were covered in frost and snow. I don't remember it snowing yesterday before we entered ALO, so it must've happened during the night time. After all, we spent approximately thirteen hours playing ALO, if you include all the breaks we took in-between. Being January, it is common for there to be snow here in Japan. I looked down towards our front yard garden, which was also covered in a sheet of ice. The green grass which I saw yesterday now has a blue-white color to it. The small pond we had at the center of our yard was already frozen, though there were cracks visible on its surface. Something must've fallen on it, or its beginning to melt.

I looked around the yard even more when Kirito suddenly came running out in the open. Suguha appeared a second later, holding an empty sword sheathe and swinging it around recklessly. Kirito laughed at Sugu who had a very infuriated expression painted on her face. She kept shouting something at Kirito who continued to laugh whilst running away. I scratched my head, confused and began heading down the stairs. I took a jacket off the coat hanger and quickly put it on. I opened the front door, letting in a cool breeze of air inside. I carefully exited the house, as the ground was covered by a thin layer of ice. I inched my way towards the corner of my house and watched my siblings mess around in the cold morning.

"Don't you think it's too early in the morning to make that much noise? Also, why are you wearing so little Sugu?" I questioned her whilst looking at her attire.

Suguha wore a rather thin red sports jacket, which was clearly not going to protect her from the current weather of Kawagoe. She did however wear a black shirt underneath it, but even then, it was only two layers. Her shorts however were a different story. She wore a pair of blue short-shorts that barely went past even half of her thighs. Since I was looking at her back, I noticed that her jacket had dark patches near the collar and spread out around the back. She wore that jacket yesterday and I don't think I saw her stain it.

"What's with the dark spot on your jacket?" I asked her.

"Kazuto-nii poured a handful of cold water down my back!" Suguha cried out to me, pointing towards Kazuto with her sword sheathe. Kazuto smiled nervously as I looked at him with contempt.

"Before I say something to Kazuto, you're going to have to change into some more proper clothing Suguha. You're going to catch a cold with how little you're wearing." I commanded her.

"I don't want to. Plus, I'm not that cold." Suguha refused, turning her back to me and crossing her arms. Even as she said that, I could see her body trembling slightly.

"I guess I'll just lock you outside then." I told her with a mischievous smile on my face, "I mean, you just said you're not that cold out here so I guess you can handle being outside for at least a few hours. Kazuto, let's go!"

"Right!" my brother agreed, also smiling mischievously. I started heading towards the front door and so did Kazuto. My brother was sprinting at first but quickly slowed down when he reached the ice so he wouldn't slip.

"W-Wait a minute!" Suguha stuttered. She quickly ran after us but it was too late since we closed the door behind her, "Hey! Let me in!"

Our sister pounded on the door with both of her hands, desperate to get inside. Kazuto and I were too busy laughing at her to even care about opening the door for her. I caught a glimpse of anger appearing on her face and she broke off into a sprint towards the front yard. I immediately knew where she was running off to.

"Quick, lock the sliding doors!" I told my brother.

The two of us broke into a sprint towards the living room, where another set of doors were located. The sliding glass door was currently closed, but it wasn't locked. I heard Suguha's heavy footsteps on the wooden porch outside and raced towards the door. The moment I reached the door, Suguha also appeared on the other side. She began pulling the door open but I closed it back again. While Suguha and I were battling, Kazuto locked the glass door, allowing me to stop struggling and take a break. Suguha pounded on the door again. The angry expression on her face was replaced with despair.

"Onii-chan! Let me in!" She pleaded.

"First you interrupt my sleep… Then you refuse to go inside and change into a better set of clothes even when I was only trying to protect you. I promised Oka-san to protect you just like how I promised her I would protect Kazuto." I told her.

"Okay, okay I get it. I'll go change then. Please just let me in!"

 **A few minutes later**

Kazuto and Suguha were sitting at the dining table, waiting patiently as I prepared our breakfast over by the kitchen. Suguha has finally changed clothes but was still a bit mad because of earlier. Now that I was looking at Suguha, her eyes were somewhat puffy, as if she didn't get any sleep last night. This was rather unusual for her since she is always energetic in the morning and doing her daily exercises. Curious, I asked her.

"Sugu." I began, "You look a bit drowsy and worn out. When did you go to sleep last night?"

"Hmm… Around four o' clock." She responded.

"Doing what?"

"Eh… Surfing the internet."

Both answers to both questions utterly surprised both me and Kirito. Suguha was never one to be interested in the online world, nor would she ever stay up as late as four in the morning to do something like that. Has she really changed this much in the past two years me and Kazuto were stuck in SAO? It seems like it was a stretch, but it's none of my business anyway. I finally finished making our breakfast and headed over to the dining table. Our meal was nothing too complicated since we were running a bit low on food I can make here. I had made three different sandwiches, each with different slices of meat on them since none of us liked the same type. I had ham, Kazuto chicken, and Suguha had beef. Suguha and Kazuto's had lettuce and tomatoes on theirs while I only had lettuce on mine. Tomato never really appealed to my taste buds, even if Violet was the one cooking them.

"Katsu-nii, you're going to have to buy me a green tea raspberry cream parfait as an apology for earlier." Suguha demanded as she munched on her sandwich.

"If you had listened to me at first and not be so stubborn, then we wouldn't have done that to you." I told her as I also took a bite out of my sandwich, "But sure, I'll buy you one."

"Hmm. Then you're forgiven." Suguha said whilst smiling, "How about we go get it later today?"

"Later?" I asked her. My brain briefly flashbacked to last night. Right before I went to sleep, Leafa had told us to meet her up at three o' clock in the afternoon once again, "I have something to do later. Sorry about that Sugu. Maybe another day. My body is still a bit tired as well so I may go to sleep after this meal."

"Oh, is that so?" she grimaced, "Then what about you Kazuto-nii? Can you buy me one today?"

"I also have something to do in the afternoon, and I was thinking of going to the hospital this morning as well."

Suguha grimaced even more after Kazuto's response. She stopped eating her sandwich and stared at it for a long time before setting it down on her plate. She wiped her face with the napkin she had and continued to stare at the sandwich. I continued observing her whilst eating my sandwich but I made sure it didn't look like I was staring at her. Kazuto on the other hand was too busy looking at his phone and eating to notice Suguha's current actions. And that's when Suguha asked a question I never thought she would have:

"C-Could I come with you, to the hospital?"

Kazuto and I looked at our adoptive sister in surprise. Even though we were willing to share our stories about SAO with her, not once has she wanted to hear anything about it. She knows about Asuna since Kazuto has visited her often enough to make her grow curious, and she knows about Violet as well. However, she doesn't know mine and Kirito's in-game names or what the world was like for us inside that death game. The only thing she knows other than our girlfriends, is that I had a drastic change of personality coming out of the game. I continued to look at my sister blankly until Kazuto finally broke the silence.

"Sure, you can come. I'm sure Asuna would be glad that you visited her."

"Hmm…" I wondered, "Well if you are going to see Asuna, then I may as well get off my lazy butt and tag along with you. I'll buy you your parfait afterwards."

"Okay. Thanks Katsu-nii." Suguha responded.

She once again picked up her sandwich and proceeded to finish her breakfast. Kazuto and I did the same though my mind continued to race with thoughts and questions. Why now of all those times Kazuto went to the hospital did Suguha ask to go with him and when did her interest in SAO and the online world become like this? Suguha may have already been like this and I just didn't care, but if Kazuto is also surprised then maybe she wasn't. Like I said, it's none of my business, so I should stop dwelling on it.

 **Half an hour later, a bus stop in Kawagoe**

Asuna is hospitalized in the Tokorozawa General Hospital, which is located in the neighboring city of Tokorozawa. I haven't been there but I see Kazuto riding his bike there so it's not too far away from our own home. The bus will take longer since we must go through traffic which is horrible in Japan, but it is the only way for us to get there together. I could use the family car, but my aunt is going to be needing it for work and she was going to leave soon. Fortunately, the bus to Tokorozawa arrived at the bus stop the same time we did. I paid the fee and we took our seats near the back of the bus. I took the window seat while Suguha sat between me and Kirito. Once all of the passengers got on and took their seats, the bus began making its way to Tokorozawa. I leaned my head on the window and watched the city fly right by us.

"Hey Kazuto-nii. What are you going to do about school?" Suguha asked my brother.

"School?" Kazuto asked.

"Weren't you supposed to start high school last year?"

"Well… The government group who was handling the SAO crisis said that they were going to use one of the old empty school buildings and turn it into a temporary school for SAO survivors who are students. The school has no entrance exam and after graduating, people will be qualified to take the college entrance exams."

"Oh, I see… That sounds like a pretty good deal." Suguha determined, "But won't that mean that they will be lumping a lot of different students together in the same classes?"

"A bit yeah… After all, we spent over two years playing a brutal and merciless death game every single day. They don't know what sort of impact it had on our minds so maybe they're just putting us together so they can observe our actions. Players who killed others in-game had it even harder since they got immediate counseling once they found out about their deeds."

"Seriously?" Suguha worried. Kazuto simply nodded.

"If I wanted to get into school the normal way, I'd have to start from the beginning and attend a cram school for one whole year. Although I can still attempt to take the entrance exam."

"I'm sure you would do just fine Onii-chan." Suguha smiled, "Your grades are good after all."

"They _were_ good." Kazuto corrected, "I haven't studied in two years, and I'm not that great in retaining past information unlike Katsu-nii. Speaking of which… Katsu-nii, you attended cram school throughout all your years in high school right?"

"W-Wah?" I stuttered out. I sat up straight and noticed that I was on the verge of falling asleep.

"We've been on the bus for less than five minutes, and yet you still managed to almost fall asleep. Jeez." Kazuto laughed.

"I can't help it." I told him, "I've always had this problem with any moving vehicles. I can stay awake just fine if I'm not tired, but once I get on a moving vehicle, my body just shuts itself down. You don't know how many times I have almost missed the train station or bus stop when I use public transport. I'm just lucky my sixth sense is sensitive enough to know when I should wake up. So, what were you saying earlier?"

"I was asking you about cram school and if you attended it all throughout high school." Kazuto responded.

"I was in cram school from my last year in junior high to graduation. I forced myself to attend it then since I knew I would have to fend for myself once I got into college or graduated. At that time, I did not expect or even think about you guys helping me out if I happened to fail in my education."

"So, you're telling me, that the number one ranked student in the high school and cram school he attended, as well as the person who always ranked number one in the school district mock exam, feared being unsuccessful in life despite being ahead of everyone else?" Kazuto laughed out.

"Nobody can predict the future Kazuto. Anybody can succeed in life, and anybody can fail in it. Though I admit, sometimes I regret working so hard only to just not do anything afterwards. I could take any and every college entry exam I want to and manage to pass, but I'm not in the mood to do anymore studying. After all, video games are my life."

"Well anyways, do you think you can tutor me?" Kazuto requested.

"Sure, I can tutor you, but it really depends on what subjects. If its science, then I can't really help you. Maybe I can contact an old friend and see if they can tutor you for that subject, though I suspect he is busy with college right now."

"It's not science. Just Math and Information-Processing." He told me.

"Oh, that stuff? Shouldn't be a problem. Yeah, I can tutor you there. I still remember a lot from that and my old notes are stored away in my study table. So, can I go to sleep now?" I asked my brother as I once again leaned my head on the window. I closed my eyes and immediately felt drowsy.

"Heh, yeah go ahead..."

 **Half an hour later, Tokorozawa General Hospital**

Most of the cities in the Saitama prefecture can be seen as suburban areas if you compare them to Tokyo. Kawagoe is one of those suburban cities. The city we lived in has homes that maintain the style of Japan when it was still in its Edo period. In fact, the shogun at that time lived in the Kawagoe Castle which is located in the city. It still remains standing to this day and open to the public, unlike the more famous Imperial Palace in Tokyo. On the other hand, Tokorozawa is one of the more urbanized cities. The buildings here look modern and clean, and there are skyscrapers in the center of the city meant for work and economy stuff. I guess you can call it the more expensive city in Saitama and the place where the rich people live, but I don't really know since I never cared about that kind of stuff before. I became more interested when Violet told me she lived in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo, which has a rather high cost of living. I wanted to question her about it but she left for Kyoto where reception is not so great. I doubt she would even have enough time anyway considering it was a family reunion, and she still needed to go through rehabilitation.

Returning back to Tokorozawa, the hospital that stood before me solidified my view on the city even more. In fact, it wasn't just a hospital but a medical research center as well. The main hospital building had twelve stories total, while a smaller one off to the side only had three. I could barely see a helicopter pad on the roof of the hospital and the helicopter which rested on top of it. The whole edifice was located in an enclosed area which had trees and grass unlike the surrounding parts.

"What a big hospital!" Suguha exclaimed.

"Wait till you see the inside. It looks like a hotel." Kazuto described.

The three of us began crossing the street, as the bus dropped us off on the opposite side of the road. Not too many cars were around at the time so the traffic went by smoothly in the intersection. We then went down the road to the hospital which split into three parts. The one on our left led to the medical research center. The one on the right led to the smaller hospital which I assume is like a pediatrics hospital. Asuna however is apparently located in the main hospital building, which is down the road on the center. After almost a minute of walking, we came upon the front doors of the hospital and entered the building.

White walls. White floors. White ceilings. Everything about the place screamed the word hospital, but at the same time it really did feel like a hotel. There was a fragrant scent in the air, and plants were scattered around the front entrance. The receptionist desk had a semi-circular shape and was made of glossy hardwood. The countertop was of black granite. There were people walking around the hospital. I saw doctors, nurses, janitors and just ordinary visitors. I spotted something to my right, built into the wall. It was a face mask dispenser. I walked over and pulled out a mask for myself. I walked back to Kazuto and Suguha while I began putting on the mask.

"Is that really necessary?" Kazuto questioned me.

"I'd rather not catch some disease people around here may have. And you should know me by now Kazuto – I like wearing masks." I told him.

We went to the receptionist desk and Kazuto asked for the keycard to Asuna's room. The receptionist jotted down our names on the visitors' list and gave us the keycard. We made our way to the elevator since Asuna's room is apparently on the 12th floor. We waited for an elevator to open up and entered inside. We began the slow ascent up the elevator while terrible elevator music played in the background. I looked at Kazuto who kept a rather straight face. When I looked over to Suguha however, she seemed a bit gloomy and sad though I do not know why. I continued watching her through the corner of my eye until the elevator stopped and made a dinging noise. The elevator door opened and we exited out before the door closed. We went down the hallway and stopped by a room near the end of it. The name Yuuki Asuna was printed next to the room's number.

"Yuuki Asuna…" Suguha commented, "She used her real name for her character name. Not a lot of people do that."

"Oh? You know a lot." Kirito said, surprised, "Asuna is the only person I know who used her real name for her character. Did anybody in your group of friends use their name Katsu-nii?"

"Nobody used their real name, but I believe ViVi and Trish based their character name off of their own." I told him.

"You played with a group of people Katsu-nii?" Suguha questioned me, "How many?"

"We were a group of ten in SAO."

"Oh? I thought you were more of a lone wolf type of person."

"That's what I thought as well when I was first trapped in the game. Thankfully that changed, or else I wouldn't have been able to meet my friends."

Kazuto walked over to the door and unlocked it using the keycard he was given. Some sort of switch sounded inside the door and Kazuto pushed it open. There was a movable standing curtain blocking the view of most of the room, but I could see a window behind it, letting some light from outside leak into the dark, gloomy room. We stepped inside and I closed the door behind me. Even through my face mask, I could faintly smell the aroma of flowers.

The small area between the curtain wall and the door was mainly designated for nurses. There was a sink for cleaning stuff and washing hands. A set of drawers and a single cabinet was located adjacent to the sink. A glove dispenser was located right above a trash can, built into the wall. There was a bundle of cables lying on the floor, all connecting to a single power strip which was hooked up to an outlet. The cables originated from behind the curtain wall so they must be powering the machines keeping Asuna alive. Behind the curtains wall, but within my sight, were two black chairs, a lamp and a small round table. I could barely spot another desk near it, hugging the wall below the open window. Kazuto began walking past the curtains and we followed him. Clouds that were blocking the sun outside parted, letting a little bit more light in as if they were trying to let us see Asuna more clearly.

The _Flash_ lied in bed, with her NerveGear still on. Her face which was praised upon by the male players of SAO, is just like how I remembered it to be. Her long, chestnut colored hair was spread out around her head. From the looks of it, her hair can reach all the way down to her lower back or even her hips. There is no doubt in my mind that Asuna was the most popular, well-known and desired female player of SAO. Everyone wanted to be like her or just date her. I'm not one of those people who would date her since I already have Violet, but I still cannot deny her amazing skill with the Rapier and her beauty.

"I'll introduce you." Kazuto told Suguha, "This is Asuna. Vice Commander of the _Knights of the Blood Oath_. Her nickname was Asuna, the _Flash_. I never could match her sword speed and accuracy in the game. Asuna, this is my sister Suguha."

"N-Nice to meet you… Asuna-san." Suguha greeted herself with a smile. The sleeping girl did not respond.

"I'm sure you remember my brother, Katsumoto." Kazuto introduced me. I bowed politely towards her, even though she can't see or even respond to my actions.

I took off my jacket and placed it on the window desk. I pulled out the chair underneath the desk and placed it over next to Asuna's bed. I took a seat and continued to look at the sleeping girl. A feeding tube was connected to her abdomen and her IV drip was connected to her left arm. Even though I knew she was just unable to move due to the NerveGear disabling her motor function, it still looked like she was in a real coma. Just thinking about made me shudder in fear. Ever since I was a kid, I never really liked hospitals. Maybe it's because it's the reason why my parents died that day, almost sixteen years in the past. They had left the house to go to the hospital so they could check on my mother's condition. They didn't even reach the hospital since they had died from a car accident. At that time, I didn't think much about their disappearance, but now, I'm wishing they had never went to that hospital in the first place.

The Voices grew in my head since I was thinking too much about death. I put my hand on my forehead and tried forcing the Voices back. I tried my absolute hardest to push them back but it didn't seem to work. They were quieter, but they still kept on screaming. Suddenly, I flashed back to the times I had physical contact with Zed and Violet. After _Laughing Coffin_ raided the Island, I touched my head with Violet, and she apparently heard a loud screaming. Later on that same exact day, I almost killed Zed and he apparently saw my memories through the Voices. In both situations, the Voices were screaming in my head. I looked at the sleeping Asuna and began wondering. It is highly unlikely for it to happen, but I've heard that holding people while they're in a comatose state can make a connection between the two persons, even if it is briefly. I took Asuna's hand into my own and held it tightly. Kazuto looked at me, questioning my actions at first but smiling afterwards. I closed my eyes and prayed.

 _Asuna… Wherever you are… just know that we are coming to save you._

 **(Asuna)**

 **ALfheim Online, the top of the World Tree**

I held the keycard in my hands. If this is what I think it is, then it is a card that grants me access to certain things only an administrator or game master can access. I got it when I had attempted to escape this bird cage prison of mine earlier today. I found the admin console and the logout button. I was so happy to see it that I was frozen in excitement. If I could have just calmed myself at that moment and press the button, I would no longer be trapped in this game of his. Unfortunately, the people who caught me have now put me back in my cell, and have changed the password of the security gate imprisoning me. Now, all my hope rests on Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san if he is still alive.

 _Asuna…_

I sat straight up right away and looked around me. Who said that? The voice that spoke, it sounded so familiar too.

 _Wherever you are…_

There it is again. That voice… I know that voice, but I can't place it anywhere.

 _Just know that we are coming to save you._

Just then, I began hearing a distant screaming. Not just from one person, but multiple others. Different voices saying different things. One of them however, was more familiar than the rest. My mind tried to place that familiar voice and I began searching through my memories. I remember it now. It happened a few days after Kirito had joined the _Knights of the Blood Oath_. Kuradeel attempted to kill him but I stopped him. However, due to my hesitation, he almost killed me. That's when Kuradeel was stopped and killed by an invisible person who I later learned to be Mortifer.

Yes, that's it. The voice that had called my name just now was his. He must be alive and on the other side, or maybe somewhere inside this game. That is the only explanation to this uncanny occurrence. He must be using those Voices in his head as a means to communicate with me. After all, we all heard them when he was fighting Heathcliff. If he or the game can manifest something in his mind to become something real, then it is possible. I took the keycard and held it tightly in my hands. I then moved them to cover my heart and curled up into a ball. I then closed my eyes.

"I'll be waiting for you then…" I whispered out loud, "Kirito-kun… Mortifer-san…"

 **(Mortifer)**

 **An in inside** **Alne** **, Three o' clock**

We left the hospital after being there for half an hour. Kazuto seemed happy that we came along with him. My mood was relatively the same as it always is. Suguha however looked like she was depressed, which is unusual for her since I always viewed her to be a happy, talkative and energetic person. Today however didn't seem to be a good day for her. The bus ride home went by quicker than our ride to the hospital since there wasn't as much traffic. Even so, I still managed to fall asleep right away and continue to do so until we arrived at the bus stop in Kawagoe. It was still one o' clock when we arrived at home, and for some reason I was still tired. And so, I set up an alarm to wake myself up around two-thirty so I could prepare myself to go and dive into ALO. I had a generally peaceful sleep without any nightmares, though I still heard the Voices screaming in the darkness which always happens to me.

It's almost three o' clock now. I ate my lunch and I've logged into the game. Kirito logged in the same time as me and we both got up from the inn beds we had slept on last night, or rather earlier this morning. I was about to get up and explore around the city when I suddenly heard sobbing. I scanned around the room and saw Leafa, sitting on a bed towards the opposite side of the room. Her head was downI looked to Kirito who also looked at me. I motioned for him to go and comfort her since he's closer with her and I'm not really one who comforts people when they are down.

"Leafa… What's wrong?" Kirito asked her. Leafa sat up, now aware that Kirito and I were in the room.

"Um… Kirito-kun" Leafa began. Tears were flowing down from her eyes and she held a look of sadness. This was replaced with a fake smile, "I… I…"

Leafa kept stuttering as even more tears streamed down her eyes. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, trying to stop the tears but to no avail.

"My heart was just broken…"

Her statement told me everything. I myself have never experienced heartbreak since I have never attempted to date anybody except for Violet, but if I happen to lose Violet, I can imagine just how much pain I would be in. After all, she was the light that guided me in SAO, and she is still one of the main reasons I am still living in this world. Leafa began rubbing her eyes constantly using the sleeve of her shirt, trying to wash the tears away. Having been in SAO, I know that when someone feels sad, their avatar won't stop crying out tears until the player composes themselves. It should be the same here in ALO considering the game engine is the same according to Yui.

"I'm sorry…" Leafa apologized, "I'm sorry for saying all of thise to someone I just met. It's against etiquette to bring real-world problems into the virtual world. I'm breaking that rule right now."

Kirito began approaching Leafa and sat down beside her on the bed. He put his hand on Leafa's back and began rubbing it.

"Whether you are here or in the real world, you can cry whenever it hurts." Kirito told her, "Just because it is a game or a virtual world doesn't mean you can't show your true feelings to others. If there is such a rule in this game, then those who created it don't know what it feels like to be human."

The blonde Sylph turned her head to Kirito, who was looking up at the ceiling, as if reminiscing about his experiences of SAO. He may be recalling his time in the _Moonlit Black Cats_ or some other sad event.

"Kirito-kun…" Leafa sobbed.

At that moment, she believed fell for Kirito's words and buried her head in his shoulder. Leafa let out streams of tears from her eyes while crying out loud. I could feel her pain, yet I couldn't sympathize with it. Usually I can emotionally connect with others, but it seems to me that I am not in the right mood set for trying to be nice to others. I don't understand it myself but ever since I got out of SAO or even out of the Cave, I've just had different personalities based on my mood. It doesn't seem like I am in the right mood to sympathize with others and I feel rather cold on the inside. I guess that explains why the Voices are still fairly audible ever since I had visited Asuna's hospital.

Leafa continued to cry for a few minutes until she finally managed to compose herself. When she did, bells rang outside the inn. They rang three times before stopping, signaling that the clock has struck three in the real world. Leafa rubbed away the leftover tears from her face and looked up.

"I'm okay now. Thank you, Kirito-kun…" Leafa told him. She then turned to him and smiled, "You're sweet, aren't you?"

"People often say the exact opposite about me, isn't that right Onii?" Kirito asked me.

"I somewhat agree to that." I told him as I stood up from the bed I had been sitting on. I began approaching the two of them, "Leafa, do you want to log off for today? I think my brother and I can make it to the rest of the way to the World Tree."

"No, that's fine. I've come this far. I'll go the rest of the way with you guys." Leafa shook her head in response. She stood up from the bed and walked a short distance before turning back to face Kirito. She smiled as she held out her hand for him to grab, "Now, let's go"

Kirito smiled and grabbed her hand. She then pulled him up from the bed.

"Yui, you here?" Kirito called out.

A light began glowing on Kirito's shoulder, and Yui appeared in her pixie form. She was hovering a few centimeters above Kirito's shoulder and yawned. Afterwards, she took a seat on Kirito's shoulder.

"Good morning. Leafa, Papa and Oji-chan." Yui greeted us. She flew over to me and sat on my head, making me smile a bit.

"Morning Yui." I greeted her.

"Good morning Yui-chan." Leafa also greeted, "Hey, I was wondering yesterday… Do Navigation Pixies sleep during the night or when their masters are offline?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it sleeping. When Papa isn't here, I shut down my input circuits and process accumulated data I've obtained from our travels. I guess you can call it a form of human sleep."

"But, just now, you yawned." Leafa pointed out. Yui tilted her head.

"Isn't that what humans do during their boot-up sequences?" Yui questioned, "From seeing Papa, his average yawn lasts for eight seconds."

"W-Wait seriously?!" I asked her, slightly giddy.

"Yup!"

"You don't have to tell us odd things like that." Kirito grumbled causing Leafa to laugh, "Anyway, let's get a move on!"

"Yeah!" Leafa agreed.

 **A few minutes later, center of the city**

"It really is bustling in this city!" Leafa said in awe.

We were walking down on a larger street compared to the others we have come across in the area. Even so, it was hard to move around. There were so many players around that I almost couldn't believe it. People from all races were walking around, talking to each other, buying from the NPC vendors, or just sightseeing, just like Lugrue.

"I guess this place really is the center of ALfheim." Kirito put in.

"It seems that all the Fairy races from around the continent gather here." Yui determined.

We continued walking down the main street and came across a giant staircase. We ascended the stairs and stopped halfway upon seeing a rather marvelous sight. Before us was the upper levels of Alne. A tall spire-like building stood before us, and behind it, was the World Tree in all of its glory.

"So, that's the World Tree…" Kirito said in awe. We all looked up at the giant tree, whose top was above even the clouds.

"Yeah. Seeing it up close makes the experience even better." Leafa marveled.

"Isn't there a city up there?" Kirito asked Leafa.

"Yes, there is. The _Fairy King Oberon_ lives there with the Fairies of Light – the Alfs. And they say that the first race to meet Oberon at the top of the World Tree will be able to reincarnate into Alfs."

"Can't you climb it on the outside?" I asked her.

"Nope. The area right around the tree is restricted. You also can't fly up there since your wings will reach its limit before you even get up to the lowest of the branches."

"We heard that some people passed the limit by using each other as boosters." I told her.

"Oh, that story huh? I hear they made it pretty close to the branches but not far enough to even reach them. The game masters freaked out upon discovering the loop hole and patched it right away. So now, there is an invisible barrier right above the clouds."

"I see…" I said, rubbing my chin.

"For now, let's head to the bottom of the tree." Kirito suggested.

"Okay." Leafa agreed,

We continued our slow, and steep ascent up the city. The entrance to the tree is apparently at the very top, which seemed so far away, but I didn't want to use my wings since the view was worth all the walking around. I estimated it took us around twenty minutes just to reach the upper-most level of the city. The amount of stairs that led us to our final destination was too many to count, but like I said, the view was amazing. While we were walking on a bridge, I got to see the entire central plain of ALfheim except for the part which the World Tree was blocking. Sword Art Online seemed so little compared to the size of ALfheim. Now, we were walking down yet another street, on the upper-most level. The number of people in this area is smaller compared to that of the middle and lower levels, but there were still a lot of them. Right in front of us, stood a very detailed archway with some rather intricate designs. Leafa stopped walking, causing us to stop as well. She then pointed to the archway.

"That archway ahead of us…" Leafa began, "Once you pass through it, you've reached the heart of this world. The central district of Alne."

She resumed walking and so did we. We approached the archway and walked into its shadow. We then passed under it and finally stepped into the central district of Alne. Just then Yui, who had been resting inside Kirito's pocket, popped out with a rather worried look on her face. She gasped loudly, catching the attention of all three of us.

"Hey Yui, what's wrong?" Kirito quickly asked her.

"Mama."


	8. Chapter 7: Yggdrasil, the World Tree

"Mama is here."

"Really?!" Kirito exclaimed, looking at Yui as if he had just been hit by defibrillators. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! I am certain! This player ID belongs to Mama. Her coordinates…" Yui pointed upwards with her tiny little hands. "She is located right above us on the tree!"

All of us looked upwards towards the tree, except for Leafa who looked confused. The current situation and atmosphere suddenly turned dire with this newly received information. I could tell just by looking at my brother's face that he was no longer in the mood to move in a slow pace like we have been doing. His body started shaking for whatever reason and he summoned his wings. I didn't even have enough time to stop him before he took off into the skies.

"Kirito!" Leafa and I cried out in unison as the air pressure from Kirito's ascent created a dust cloud around us.

"Wait, Kirito-kun!" Leafa called out to him, but my brother did not listen at all and continued flying towards the Yggdrasil.

"He's not gonna stop for us Leafa!" I quickly told her.

Both of us summoned our wings which twinkled in the sunlight. We both took off and chased after my brother. As we tried to catch up with Kirito, I looked towards Leafa who still held a confused expression. She also had her hand on the handle of her sheathed sword, though I do not know why so.

"Mortifer-san… Is the person at the top of that tree really that important to Kirito-kun?" Leafa asked me.

"Yes, the person at the top is really important to him. The extent of this importance I have yet to fully discover though I do have some idea." I told her. I turned my gaze back to Kirito who passed through the clouds above us. Suddenly, Leafa accelerated and flew past me, causing me to panic and fly faster as well.

"Kirito-kun, wait!" Leafa cried out to him desperately. "You have to be careful! You are about to hit the max flight altitude barrier!"

Not even a second later, a loud noise sounded above the clouds. When we passed through the numerous but thin clouds, I caught a glimpse of a shockwave pulsing through the air in front of me. The waves were like the ripples you create when you drop something in a still body of water or some other liquid. Right below the epicenter of the shockwave was Kirito, who had lost his balance and is now falling. Fortunately, he recovered fairly quickly. However, he did not seem intent on stopping because of an invisible barrier.

"Kirito-kun, no!" Leafa cried out once more as Kirito once again flew into the barrier, only to bounce back.

Kirito's expression showed desperation, rage and absolute determination. Even after doing nothing against the invisible barrier preventing us from going any higher, Kirito tried to run into one more time. However, Leafa managed to get a hold of his arm and stopped him from doing anymore reckless bashing.

"Stop it, Kirito-kun!" Leafa shouted. "It's impossible! You can't get any higher up from here!"

"I've got to go!" Kirito growled. His voice hinted pain and his body was shivering. "I've got to go, can't you see?!"

I noticed Leafa's grip on Kirito loosen slightly but she still held him in place. Leafa's expression showed shock, fear and confusion. She must really be wondering how my brother's personality changed so suddenly. In fact, I was also caught off-guard by it. He is usually calm, collected and while his recklessness is already known to me, the level of it I did not know. Finding out that Yui can detect Asuna must have caused him to lose a grip on his emotions and let them take over. The same thing happens with me, so I guess a lack of control in our emotions is something we inherited from our parents. I averted my gaze from Kirito and Leafa and turned back to the barrier, where Yui was also trying to push through it. She had her tiny palms planted on the surface of the invisible barrier.

"Mama, it's me, Yui!" the little girl called out to the distant Asuna. "Mama!"

The little Navigation Pixie continued to pound on the barrier. She was just as desperate to see Asuna as my brother, though I couldn't really blame her. Even so, I flew over to my artificial niece and grabbed her tiny body, preventing her from trying to break through the barrier. Kirito continued to try and ram himself into the barrier, but Leafa held him in place, incapable of doing anything.

"Mama! Mama! I'm right here!" Yui continued to cry out in vain.

I looked up towards the tree, past the invisible barrier. The branches were completely beyond our reach, and the distance, size and number of them prevented me from seeing anything clearly. The amount of leaves connected to each branch also blocked my attempts to spot the birdcage we saw in the picture Agil had sent us. In fact, the tree's top did not even look like a tree at all, but something like a mushroom. The leaves and branches were just that thick. Soon after a while, Yui stopped trying to break free from my grip and so I let her go. Kirito on the other hand, managed to break free from Leafa's grip and began ramming himself against the barrier once again. Leafa did not try to stop him since she couldn't and instead resorted to holding Yui in her hands. I could easily stop my brother, but I was debating whether I should let him direct all his anger towards that barrier or save it for later when we take on the World Tree challenge.

"What is this thing anyway?!" Kirito shouted in rage. After his statement, I decided to stop him. I flew over and seized his left arm.

"I'm gonna need to stop you right there Kirito…" I told him. He tried breaking away from me but I maintained a firm grip.

"Let go of me Nii-san."

"Sorry, but I can't let you recklessly charge at an indestructible barrier. But when we enter Yggdrasil from the base and take on the challenge, maybe then I will let you go."

Kirito's expression remained the same, but I finally managed to calm him down. His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes. He let out a long sigh before he looked towards me and nodded. I slowly let go of his arm and set him free. This time, he did not charge against the barrier.

"I tried to use warning mode to contact Mama…" Yui began explaining down under us. "But I'm not sure if it reached her…"

We continued looking up the tree when something twinkled in my vision. If the twinkling object had the sky at its background instead of the tree, I doubt I would've spotted it in broad daylight. The object was very small and it fell slowly. The wind was blowing but it didn't get displaced and continued to fall straight down. In fact, the object was heading straight towards us.

"What is that?" Kirito asked, also noticing the object I spotted.

I slowly flew up and caught the mysterious shiny object. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was a grey, rectangular card. One side had a solid grey color while another side had a black strip towards one of the longer ends of the card. I flew down towards Kirito, Leafa and Yui, still observing the card.

"It's a card, but I don't know what for." I informed them. "Leafa, do you know what this is?"

"N-No…" She answered. "I have never seen an item like this before."

"I don't think it has a data window." I said as I tried to tap on the item to open its data window. No window opened.

"Let me see Oji-chan." Yui offered. She flew from Leafa's hands and hovered right next to mine, touching the grey card. "This card… This card contains a system-admin access code."

"So, in other words…" Leafa began.

"An administrator card key!" I finished her sentence.

"Then, can we use it to access the GM controls of the game?!" Kirito exclaimed. Yui however shook her head much to his dismay.

"No. We need the appropriate console to access it from within a game. So, in other words, we need to find an admin console somewhere in this game in order to make use of this card. Even I cannot bring up the system menu." Yui explained

"I see…" Kirito muttered out. "However, something like this wouldn't have just fallen out of the sky for no reason. And there's no way an administrator is watching us and willingly gave us this card for us to use to our liking. This could be…"

"Yes!" Yui exclaimed. "A message from Mama! She must've received a notification when I used warning mode to contact her."

"So, that only leaves us with one choice…" I determined. Kirito took the card and stored it into his shirt pocket. He then turned to Leafa.

"Leafa, please tell me something… Where is the gate entrance that leads to the inside of Yggdrasil, the World Tree?" my brother asked.

"Ah, um… It's in the dome, at the base of the tree." Leafa nervously answered. "B-But you can't get in! It's protected by guardians, and even the biggest raiding parties couldn't break through its formidable defenses."

"Still, I have to go…" Kirito declared. Kirito then took Leafa's hand and enveloped it with both of his own. "Thank you so much Leafa, for everything. You have done so much for us even though we just met each other. But now, Mortifer and I will be going the rest of the way, alone."

His declaration caused Leafa's face to express so many different feelings. Shock, worry, pain and sadness. Her mouth was open, but no words sounded from it. She looked at Kirito, who looked back at her with a smile showing his gratitude. My brother let go of the Sylph's hand and backed away. He bowed down to the girl before quickly descending towards the base of the tree. Leafa and I watched my brother fly away from us, wanting to go save Asuna.

"Kirito-kun…" Leafa whispered. She then turned to me.

"I feel bad leaving you here Leafa. I really do." I told her. "But right now, my brother is no longer treating ALO as a game. This is reality for him, which is why he is stopping at nothing to get to the top of the tree. I need to be there with him to protect him from both external and internal threats. It was fun journeying with you. Good bye…"

I opened my menu and disbanded our party. I then bowed towards Leafa and quickly chased after my brother, who had already touched down on the ground and is running towards the dome which Leafa spoke of. I touched down and tailed behind my brother. Our sudden appearance caused nearby players to become startled and question our intentions. One person even thought that there was an event going on. I ignored however, and continued towards the dome. Kirito and I climbed up a rather large staircase and finally made it to the top. Before us was a giant, beige-colored stone door with engravings depicting nature. Two large statues of warriors with wings were on both sides of the door. The statues held their swords pointed down towards their pedestals and stood still. But when Kirito and I approached the gate, the two statues began moving their swords and made a cross in front of the door, blocking the entrance.

"You who know not the heights of heaven…" The statues began speaking. "Do you desire passage to the king's castle atop the World Tree?"

A screen of light appeared in front of me. The words _'Will you attempt the grand quest – Guardians of the World Tree'_ appeared before me. Kirito accepted the quest without hesitating and so did I. The statues began moving back to their original positions after both of us accepted the quest.

"Now then… Show us that you are worthy if letting your wings take flight. Inside, you have unlimited flight. Finish the quest by defeating the guardians and making it to the top of the room."

The enormous stone door began opening, revealing a pitch-black room. It seemed to be lacking air, as I could feel the air around me get sucked into the room like a weak vacuum. Yui, who was peeping out of Kirito's shirt pocket, now hid herself inside of it. Kirito unsheathed his large sword and held it tightly with one hand. His expression continued to show pain. The pain of not getting to see Asuna sooner. I sighed and unsheathed my own sword. The two of us walked into the dark room and looked up. Magical lights on the walls suddenly brightened the place up almost instantaneously, temporarily blinding the both of us from the sudden change. These magical wall lights numbered in the thousands and varied in sizes. All of them were shaped like pentagons and appeared like a shining diamond against the walls. Right above us was the entrance to the top of the world tree. The thing we have been looking for all this time is now within our reach, but if even the biggest of raiding parties are not able to get to the top, then it just goes to show just how hard it is to finish this grand quest.

"Kirito… If worst comes to worst, I'm going to be dragging you around. Whether it be towards the top or back to the entrance, it doesn't matter." I told him.

"Yeah…" my brother muttered out.

Out of the blue, one of the numerous magical hexagon lights glowed even brighter, and metallic fairy warrior appeared right in front of it, wielding a sword. Soon, multiple other magical lights glowed and gave birth to more of the fairy soldiers. I wanted to smile since I thought this fight would be interesting, but I couldn't because I knew I have to do this seriously since it is for my brother. Defeat is something my brother will accept, but only as a last resort. Until he dies, he will stop at nothing to get to the top of the tree. I need to make it so I am willing to do the same. I looked at Kirito who held his sword with both of his hands. He summoned his wings and looked up at the robotic warriors.

"Let's go!"

The two of us took off from the ground and charged at the warriors.

"Out of my way!" Kirito screamed as he decapitated the robot in front of him. I made a good decision to make Kirito let his anger out on the guardians, but it is still a bit scary watching him massacre the enemies.

I took to the other side of the room and began taking care of the guardians at that side. Upon closer look at our enemies, they really were just robots. The guardians were bigger than us, almost twice Kirito's size. Their bodies made of metal, and their fairy-like wings resembled that of the Leprechaun race, except without the unique metal gear. Their metallic armor was rather thin and doesn't appear to be that strong especially since Kirito easily decapitated one without struggle. The swords they wielded seemed like they were supposed to be used for two hands but they only used one. I wanted to test something out, and so I took out three throwing picks and three throwing knives. I casually threw one of my picks at the nearest guardian. The projectile hit the robot at the center of its head, piercing through it but not killing it. I then took my knife and threw it at another guardian. It found its mark on its head and killed it with one blow. So, I can use the picks to finish them off and knives to kill, but I need to aim for the head in both situations… I shrugged my shoulders and put my throwing picks back in my pocket, keeping my knives on my belt.

I held my sword in my hand and charged at the guardian closest to me, which still had the throwing pick from earlier. With one quick slash of my blade, it split into two and exploded, letting out a colorful cloud of purple dust. A few moments later, all the lights in the room began glowing brighter, and hundreds, if not thousands, of guardians came flying out. They now hovered above us, acting as a barrier between us and the top of the tree. I now see why not even the biggest boss raids can defeat this grand quest. While these guardians by themselves are weak, the sheer number of their forces topple that of any army that could possibly stand against them. The only way to possibly break through this army is through using tremendous amounts of strength, or incredible speed. Unfortunately, my wings don't seem to be working the way I want them to, so I can't move in Mach speed. If it wasn't so buggy, Kirito and I would be at the top already.

"This is going to be one hell of a struggle…" I sighed. I then watched as my brother recklessly charged into a whole group of guardians.

I flew straight up and attacked the guardians head on just like my brother. Four came at me at once and I simply glared at them, showing no fear. Two guardians swung their swords at me, and so I bent backwards letting the blades pass right in front of my face. The flat side of one of the blades rubbed the tip of my nose but it didn't cause damage. I used my momentum to perform a backflip and kick the blades away from their owners. I took the arm of the guardian to my left and threw it at the one on my right, causing them to collide. With one swift downwards strike, I sliced both bodies in half. While that happened, I also performed a full flip and parried the attack that I sensed was coming from behind me. The force of my parry blew away the blade from the guardian. I stabilized myself and decapitated the guardian. The sword which I knocked away fell towards me. I caught it and quickly threw it at the fourth guardian, piercing its abdomen and destroying it. Ten more guardians came.

The guardians circled around me, all holding their swords like spears and aiming to pierce me all at once. I've been in a situation like this before back in the Cave. I thought I was dead until I thought up of a plan to use their own attack against them. And so, I plan on doing the same to these guys. All at once they charged me with their swords. The moment before I got pierced by the ten blades, I let myself fall below them. Some of the guardians pierced each other but it wasn't enough to kill. I then held my sword tightly with both my hands and used my strength to perform a powerful circular attack. As that happened, I flew upwards in a spiral, distributing my attacks on the guardians even further. Six of them died while four remained heavily injured. I dispatched those four normally by slicing them up into pieces and even punching one of them straight through the chest.

I looked towards my brother. He had taken some damage, unlike me. I would insult him since I was taking on more enemies, but he isn't as skilled or as cautious as I am. After all, his rage is making him extremely reckless. Just now, two guardians attacked Kirito from either side. Kirito blocked one attack with his sword but let his own arm catch the other one, almost making him loss his hand and causing him to get the dismemberment effect. He finished those two guardians off afterwards. He made his way towards me and we put our backs against each other.

"You should take this a bit more seriously and not tank attacks. You're not invincible you know." I told my brother.

"Yeah well it seems to me that you're not being serious either." Kirito responded. "You've been bored this entire trip, haven't you? Fighting all these enemies must be exciting you right now."

"I can't deny your statement, but at least I'm trying to get to the top." I said as I sliced up a guardian in front of me then quickly turning around to assist Kirito in taking on another.

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" My brother responded as he dismembered a guardian's arms and legs before cutting its body in half by the waist.

"Hey, don't be pessimistic now. Aren't you the one trying to save Asuna?" I told him as I threw a guardian's sword to collide with three others, pushing them back.

"I'm not used to fighting this many enemies at once. I can fight around four monsters at most but even they need to be weaker than some monster in the 75th Floor of SAO. On the other hand, you're not even breaking a sweat even when you take on ten at once." Kirito complained as he struggled to deal with two attacks at once. He was about to take another hit to the arm but I kicked the sword away.

"I wouldn't say I'm not breaking a sweat, but I've got immense training when it comes to taking on hordes and hordes of enemies. There was this one boss I fought, _The Black Widow_. She kept summoning continuous waves of smaller spiders. I had to deal with them as I fought her. Not fun for an arachnophobe."

"I don't need your life story right now Katsu-nii, but do you think you can give me a boost and throw me upwards?" my brother asked me.

"My pleasure." I answered as I switched my sword to my left hand and took my brother's arm on my right.

Kirito used me as a pivot and began circling around me. I spun with him as well so he could build up momentum. I timed it perfectly and let go of my brother, sending him flying upwards with a little boost of speed before it slowly decayed. He dodged incoming attacks from guardians above as I chased after him. The guardians below me also began chasing me but then flew past me and began approaching Kirito. Their targeting algorithms must be different from the ones outside. Their priority must be the ones closest to the top. If the raid parties have healers, they must also be one of the priority targets of these guardians. Now I see why it is so damn hard to complete this quest. Other than their sheer numbers, their targeting system is different from the monsters in the rest of ALfheim, making it more difficult to people who are unwary of it.

I flew even faster to try and catch up with my brother. I passed the guardians and began destroying the ones, starting from the ones closest to my brother. I took a few hits since I wasn't on the same altitude as them nor was it comfortable bending down with this armor and having to fight things below me. Their bodies are farther away since their swords arm aiming upwards. On the other hand, I have to aim downwards. My arms when straightened out doesn't even reach my knees, and my sword's length makes it so my reach is only a little bit past my legs. However, it doesn't matter much since my injuries are on my legs which are useless right now because I am airborne. Even so, it would be useful to kick the guardians away from me and my brother.

We began getting closer and closer to the top of the tree when I suddenly got pierced by an arrow on my right shoulder. I looked around and saw hundreds of archers dotting the walls of the room, aiming towards me and Kirito. I quickly pulled the arrow out of my shoulder and stole a blade from one of the guardians. The archers let loose a storm of arrows at me and my brother as we continued our ascent up the tree. Kirito attempted to avoid as many as possible but took in dozens of arrows all around his body. The arrows were weak and did not do much damage on their own, but the number of arrows makes up for the lack of damage. I was also hit by several arrows, but I blocked some coming at me by continuously spinning my swords around me randomly, parrying any arrows that I manage to hit with my two weapons. I thought we would be fine when a guardian below me suddenly threw its own weapon with immense strength, aiming it towards me. I dodged the attack, but I soon regretted it when it found its mark on Kirito's back.

Kirito lost his balance and was now looking down at me. I then watched as several other guardians threw their weapons as well, piercing Kirito straight through the chest. Seeing the horrifying sight of my brother being completely beat up ignited my fuse. My body began burning with anger and I began massacring all guardians near me. I used my stolen blade to dual-wield but the imbalance between the two weapons made my movements a bit weird. My own sword was much faster and lighter than the one I stole from a guardian. However, that didn't matter since they are still capable of killing. After I took down at least twenty of the guardians nearby, I flew towards my brother. His face was fuming with rage. His health bar began dropping considerably until I noticed he was going to die.

"Kazuto! Pull out the blades and arrows now!" I commanded him. However, it seems my words to him went in one ear and out the other. "Kazuto! Listen to me! You're going to die!"

My brother ignored me once again, and instead let out a terrifying battle cry. He continued flying upwards but in a very slow speed since he was so weak. I forcefully began pulling out the blades only to see his health bar drop even faster. Damn it! There's no way I can save him! I don't have any healing items! Slowly but surely, Kirito's health dropped to the orange zone, then the red zone. The final sliver of red disappeared on the corner of my vision and soon after that, his entire health bar. My brother's body exploded into millions of shapes, just like the death animation of monsters here in ALO and in SAO. The only thing left of him was his purple Remain Light.

"Damn it! Damn it!" I yelled out. I grabbed my brother's purple flame with my left hand and hugged it close to my chest, protecting it. "I need to get out of here!"

I stopped my ascent and made my way downwards. I could just let myself fall instead of fly down, but it's hard to maneuver. The archers are still shooting at me, and it will be even easier since they won't have to worry about gravity too much since it will only help them. Some of the sword-wielding guardians continued to throw their blades. I didn't get pierced by the blades, but several of them grazed me. I thought I could escape when a whole battalion blocked my path to the gate. I stopped flying and hovered above them. I looked to my sides and saw archers and swordsman alike. Above me were even more archers and swordsman, looking down on me and preparing to kill me. I was completely surrounded, with no means of escaping. I then let out a long sigh. It sucks to think about it, but I have to accept defeat. This isn't SAO where I have the _Surge of Darkness_ as a last resort. I don't have the same strength I had in SAO as I do here in ALO. There's just no way the two of us could possibly take on this grand quest by ourselves. After all, even that Salamander back in  Lugrue told us that they need ancient-class equipment just to take this stupid challenge on. I guess this was all for naught… Or so I thought…

Light beamed from underneath me, and a whole group of guardians exploded. A beam of light flew past my face and destroyed another group of guardians above me. I watched the light beam as it flew past all the guardians and finally collided with the top of the tree, disappearing. I turned my gaze down below me and was shocked to see a lone figure in green flying towards me. Her blonde hair trailed behind her as she flew up to meet me. I was surprised yet exhilarated to see Leafa's face.

"Where's Kirito-kun?" Leafa asked me.

"Right here!" I exclaimed as I handed her Kirito's Remain Light.

"We need to get out of here Mortifer-san!"

"I'll protect you from the guardians! Let's go!"

The two of us flew downwards through the hole Leafa created with her light beam attack. I turned my back around and pulled out all of my throwing picks and knives. I rapidly threw them at the guardians, trying to slow them down from getting us. I quickly ran out and switched to my sword. I parried and blocked all incoming attacks from the sword-wielding guardians and prevented them from touching Leafa. That's when the archers began shooting arrows and the swordsman began throwing their swords once again. I took my own sword and began blocking as many as possible, but it was impossible for me to block all of them. I was pierced multiple times by arrows and took a sword on my stomach. I turned around and pulled the blade out and began focusing on escaping rather than evading.

"Make for the door!" I screamed at Leafa, pointing towards the open door.

The both of us reached the floor of the room and used our wings to speed our way to the door. Arrows and swords fell all around us, piercing the stone floor like it was made of rubber. The both of us were hit with a few more arrows before we broke through the threshold and came in contact with the sunlight. We crash landed into the stone flooring off the entrance. I rolled multiple times before coming to a stop. Leafa skidded across the pavement, leaving her with some in-game road rash. It wasn't severe since the pavement was smoother than it was rough. Both of us were out of breath. Leafa didn't have to fight that much, but our hard landing must have knocked the wind out of her. We both took our time to recover out breaths before sitting up. When I looked back at the entrance door, I noticed that it closed by itself. I then looked at Leafa.

"Thank you Leafa… For the save…" I told her.

"I-It was nothing…" Leafa answered. "Here, hold Kirito for a moment."

Leafa handed me the purple Remain Light. She opened her menu and began rummaging through her inventory. A few moments later, she selected an item and it appeared on her right hand. It was a small vial that contained some sort of red crystal inside. I saw the substance move around in the vial, and I determined it to be a liquid simply shaped like a crystal due to the container. Leafa reached out her open hand, and I gave her Kirito's Remain Light. She uncapped the vial and let a single drop of the red liquid fall onto the flames. Instantly, the purple flames grew bigger and became a fiery tornado. The purple flames quickly faded away, revealing a fully healed Kirito. The item Leafa used must be some sort of resurrection item.

"Kirito-kun!" Leafa happily called out to him. A tear streamed down her left cheek.

Kirito moved his hands, getting to feel his body again after experiencing death for the first time in the game. He repeatedly opened and closed his hands as if making sure he can move properly. He looked at Leafa and gave her a smile of gratitude. He walked towards her and kneeled in front of her. He took one of her hands in his own and held them lightly. Leafa's cheeks began to blush a bright pink.

"Thank you Leafa." Kirito told her.

"I-It was nothing…" Leafa responded nervously, looking away shyly.

"But don't ever do anything reckless like that ever again… Mortifer and I will be fine on our own. I don't want to cause you any more trouble than I already have."

"But it's not any trouble! I…" Leafa began shouting out, trying to argue with my brother.

Kirito let go of Leafa's hand and began standing up. He then started to slowly walk back towards the entrance of the tree's base. Is he really thinking off going back in there? We just experienced a horrendous defeat, yet my brother still wants to continue. Even he should notice that neither of us are powerful enough to take on that herculean task of a grand quest. My resolve is as high as Kirito's but I guess he is a bit more stubborn than I am. While I hate having to give up, if I experience a defeat such as this then I can simply accept the fact that I need to become stronger or at least get more help. It seems my brother's determination to save Asuna is getting through that. Does it have to do something with why he's been rushing to get to this tree the whole time?

"Kirito?!" Leafa called out to him but my brother ignored her.

"Oi, Kirito!" I also called out to him but he didn't say anything either.

"W-Wait Kirito-kun! You guys can't take on the grand quest alone!"

"You may be right…" My brother mumbled.

"I am right! So please-"

"But I must keep going."

Leafa teared up a bit more and she ran to stop Kirito. She grabbed both of his arms and rested her head on his right shoulder. Kirito stopped moving then but his expression showed no emotion. I began standing up as well and stood beside the two of them.

"Please stop… Just stop this. Go back to being your normal self. I… I… I care about you…"

"I'm sorry Leafa…" Kirito put his hand on Leafa's. "If I don't get up there, nothing will end. And nothing will begin. I have to get up there to see her again…"

Kirito removed Leafa's hands from his arms and continued walking onward. Leafa was still shocked but made no pursuit to Kirito. But this time, I was going to be the one to try to stop my brother. I ran up to him and grabbed his right hand, holding it tightly but not to the point where I'm crushing it. Only enough to possibly give my brother a slight discomfort.

"Nii-san… Let go of my arm…" Kirito uttered out. His low voice hinted anger.

"I can't do that Kirito. I can't just keep watching you die over and over again. I made a promise to Oka-san that I would not let harm come to your way. I'm not going to break that promise now." I declared.

"If it pains you to see me die, then don't help me. I understand that I'm clearly not powerful enough to make it to the top. You're the strongest person I know, yet even you can't make it to the top of the tree. Even so, I need to keep trying." Kirito raised his voice slightly. He turned around and gave me a dead serious look. His eyes burned with anger. The intimidating face scared Leafa, but it did not work on me whatsoever.

"Kazuto! I know how you feel!" I began yelling at him. The Voices grew louder as my anger built up inside. "That feeling of wanting to see a loved one. I've had it too. You want to see them so bad, but you can't. Yet as time goes on, you get a feeling that something bad is going to happen to them unless you go to them right away. I've felt it too!"

"No, you have not!" Kirito also began yelling at me. He managed to break free from my grip. "You have not felt what I am feeling right now Katsu-nii! In your case, you have Violet, who is fully awake and escaped from the game! Although you can't see her, at least she isn't like Asuna who is still sleeping! You at least know that Violet is safe with her family, but I don't know what's happening to Asuna and that's what pains me! If she's not even at the top of the tree then I'll be even more distraught since I'll have to start back at square one once again! You haven't suffered more than I am right now!"

His final words triggered something inside of me. Something which I haven't triggered since we escaped from SAO. A merciless anger so violent and dark that it even gives me the ability to break even the most important of my promises. This anger is similar to that of the one I receive from the _Surge of Darkness_. In fact, you can say I discovered it upon first using that dangerous ability. I balled my hand into a fist, and punched my own brother in the face, sending him flying a few meters away from me, right in front of the door. I heard Leafa cry out behind me at the sight of me lashing out. Kirito's shirt pocket opened up and Yui flew out of it. She flew up to Kirito's face, also shocked from what just occurred.

"Papa! Papa!" she called out.

Kirito slowly sat up and covered his face with his own hand. The anger which had burned earlier disappeared and was replaced with one of surprise and astonishment. He was completely stunned at my actions. I didn't feel bad for punching him due to my anger. Even so, I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. They gathered at the tip of my chin and fell to the stone pavement beneath me.

"You're right… You're right about how I haven't felt your pain… The time I was separated from Violet in-game, it was my decision to not see her. I did that since I was unable to forgive my actions that occurred during the Night of the Forest. You're also right about the fact that Asuna's situation is on a whole different compared to Violet's. Violet is awake and well, while Asuna is still sleeping. You have no way of contacting her and no way to know if she's still fine. The feeling of not being able to help a loved one at all is something I haven't felt, but I can see just how painful it can be. However, I cannot forgive you for saying those words… How dare you think you have suffered more than I have! The pain you are going through now is nothing compared to those two arduous years I had to endure in Sword Art Online! These Voices in my head constantly remind me of all my sins I committed in that game and even here in ALO. Every person I killed in that game… All eighty-nine of them… Their Voices have haunted me ever since I committed the sin of killing them! Day and night, I have to listen to their screams. Even though I've learned to control them, they still remain in my head and will remain there till the day I die. So, don't go telling me all this bullshit about you suffering more than me. The pain I've been through is beyond your understanding!"

I panted heavily as I found myself completely out of breath. My shouting was so loud, people from down below could have heard it if the city was quiet enough. Kirito, Leafa and Yui stayed put, all of them astonished. The red mark on Kirito's face caused by my punch began fading away. He put his hand down on the ground and I saw tears stream down his face. My anger began fading away and I slowly walked over to Kirito. I kneeled down and ripped out a piece of fabric from my own cloak. I used the small piece of fabric to wipe away Kirito's tears. My brother took the fabric into his own hands and began wiping them away himself.

"I'm sorry for hitting you." I apologized to him.

"No… I'm the one who should be sorry. Sorry for saying I've suffered more than you, even though you have gone through pain beyond anything I've ever experienced…" Kirito corrected. Kirito wiped the tears from his eyes and his gaze turned to something behind me.

I turned around and saw Leafa crying. Her hands, which covered her mouth, quivered violently. I thought she would be scared because of me lashing out at Kirito, but she seemed more shocked than anything.

"Leafa, what's wrong?" I asked her.

The words that came out from her mouth left me dumbfounded.

"Is that really you… Katsu-nii? Kazuto-nii?"

I looked at Leafa confused. There is only one person in this world who calls me Katsu-nii, and that is my brother, Kazuto. Leafa obviously can't be Kazuto because she is a girl, and I've been with my brother ever since the start of this game. There's no way he can be playing on two different accounts at the same time and act independently on each one. That's when I suddenly remembered that there is indeed one other person who calls me Katsu-nii - my sister Suguha.

I looked at Leafa's face once more and observed it carefully. The way she's reacting to things now. The position of her hands, legs and her overall posture reminded me of Suguha. I recalled all of those smiles Leafa gave me and realized that they were the same exact smile as the ones my sister gives me. Leafa's way of acting out in certain situations also matched that of my sister.

"Sugu?!" I questioned her. Leafa's reactions showed shock, giving me the hint that it really was her.

"Suguha?!" Kazuto asked, surprised.

"This is awful…" Leafa muttered out, burying her face in her hands. "This isn't fair… It isn't…"

"S-Sugu!" Kirito tried calling out to her. He quickly stood up and began walking towards her, his hand reaching out.

Leafa manipulated her menu and found the log out function. Without a second thought, she logged out of the game, leaving Kirito and I dumbfounded. How did I not realize that was Sugu all along? The way she acted basically screamed it out. I guess I didn't bother putting the pieces of the puzzle together since I never thought Suguha would play an online game. After all, she's always been the outdoor type. Now I see why she wanted to see Asuna earlier today and her statement about surfing the internet. I looked to Kirito who simply looked down the ground.

"You want me to go talk to her?" I asked my brother.

"No… I'll go talk to her. Stay right here…" Kirito responded as he too opened his menu and logged out.

I was now left alone, standing in front of the doors of the World Tree. Yui is also gone since her program is part of Kirito's NerveGear. Since he logged off, she is gone as well. I stood there, not knowing what to do except for one thing.

"Like I'm just going to stay put after what just happened… Idiot…"

I opened my menu and quickly found the log out function. I pressed the button and the world began disappearing from my vision.

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **Real world**

I took off my NerveGear and slowly stood up from my bed, trying to not make any sounds since my floorboard was a bit creaky. I slowly walked up to my door and sat down, leaning my back against it. I can hear my brother as he walks down the hallway towards Sugu's room. His footsteps stopped and then I heard a quiet knocking.

"Sugu, can I come in?" Kazuto asked her.

"Don't!" Suguha shouted from inside her room. Since I was two rooms down, her voice was a bit muffled. "Don't open the door… Leave me alone…"

"What's wrong Sugu? I mean, Katsu-nii and I were surprised too. If you're mad at us for using the NerveGear again, then we apologize for doing so. But I didn't have a choice. I had to ask Katsumoto to help me since I needed it."

"No… That isn't it." Suguha responded. "That isn't…"

I heard a loud boom down the hallway, as if someone had just stomped on the floor. I could hear Sugu's heavy footsteps and then the sound of a door opening. The wooden sign that hung on Suguha's door sounded noisily with the sudden movement of the door. The wooden pieces collided with one another, making noises you would hear when you drop pieces of wood on the floor. I could then hear Suguha's voice start speaking. Her voice seemingly full of despair and sadness.

"I… I… I betrayed my own heart! I betrayed my love for you, Kazuto-nii. I was about to forget it all… To give up on trying to love you… To fall in love with Kirito-kun instead… No, I already had! But… But…"

My mind was utterly shocked at the words that reached my ears. Suguha is in love with Kazuto?

"L-Love?" Kazuto questioned. "But we're-"

"I know…" Suguha interrupted. "I already know! You and Katsumoto aren't even my siblings!"

My eyes opened wide with shock. For the longest time, I was forced to keep it a secret. The secret of my real parents dying right after Kazuto's birth. Because he was so young, he never remembered his real parents. He grew up with me, Suguha and our adoptive parents, thinking that this was his real family. It was when he reached the age of ten when my brother found out. He had managed to find a deleted entry record in the Internet that told him about his parents' deaths. He questioned me and our adoptive parents. We were forced to tell him the truth. Ever since then, he became more distant from Suguha, whether it was intentional or unintentional. But all that time, Suguha never knew of our real relationships. She always thought of us as her brothers. She isn't good with computers so she couldn't have found the record. Our adoptive parents, most likely my Oba-san, must've told her the truth. Maybe when we were still inside SAO.

"I've known that for the last two years… Wasn't the reason you quit kendo and started avoiding me, is because you knew the whole time?! Katsu-nii had already been avoiding me, but then you decided to do it too. You were distancing yourself from me because I wasn't your real sister, right? If so… If so…! Why are you being nice to me now?! Why is Katsumoto of all people being nice to me?! I was so happy you came back from SAO. Although I regret saying it now, at that time I didn't even care if Katsu-nii didn't return. I was so happy you were being nice to me, like when we were little. I was so happy all of us were getting along. It felt like you were giving me a chance… That's what I thought… But… If I'd known this would happen, then I wish you had stayed cold to me. If you had, I wouldn't have realized my feelings for you. Or been sad to learn about what was going on with Asuna… Or fallen in love with Kirito-kun instead of you!"

Suguha's voice was filled with sorrow and heartbreak. She is definitely crying right now. Her visit to Asuna must have solidified the fact that she could not fall in love with Kazuto. That's why she was crying back in the inn as Leafa when we first logged in. She then transferred those feelings of love to Kirito, only to find out that they are the same person. A betrayal of her own heart.

"I'm sorry…" Kazuto quietly apologized. There was a long silence before Suguha finally responded.

"Just… leave me alone…" she sniffled.

I heard her bedroom door slam shut. The force was enough to send a shockwave around the house which I felt through my own door. Suguha's crying was barely audible due to our distance and the multiple mediums the sound has to travel through. Earlier today, I would not be able to sympathize with her. But now, after what happened both in ALO and here in the real world, I can sympathize. While I have found some girls interesting, I have never chased for one or became attached with one before I met Violet. In fact, Violet is my first girlfriend, and I doubt she and I will separate anytime soon. Because of that, I have not experienced the pain of heartbreak. This pain that Suguha is going through right now is unbeknownst to me. And because I've grown so close to Suguha in these past few months, I managed to shed a single tear of sympathy. And as if our minds were connected, I heard Kazuto say the exact same word coming out of my own mouth:

"Sugu…"


	9. Chapter 8: Overcoming Ordeals

Eavesdropping on my brother and sister made me lose track of time. I now no longer know how long I've been sitting here, leaning on my door. I silently got up and made my way to my bed. I sat down and placed the NerveGear on my head. I lied down and initiated my Full-Dive

"Link, start!"

 **(Mortifer)**

 **ALfheim Online, Alne**

I spawned in front of the World Tree's entrance, right beside one of the statues. Not too long after that, a flash of light appeared in front of me. The light grew brighter before quickly fading away, revealing Kirito. His closed eyes opened, revealing the sadness which I couldn't see when he was talking to Suguha. He looked at me and dropped his head.

"You were eavesdropping on us… Weren't you?" Kirito questioned.

"Of course I was idiot…" I mumbled back in response. "Did you really expect me to stay put after finding out Leafa was Sugu?"

"Heh… I guess not. I told Sugu to meet me at the northern terrace. If she doesn't come then so be it. We can try taking on the World Tree later when we know she isn't getting back on. I guess you can go and do anything you want for now…"

I continued to lean on the statue while I watched by brother walk away and descend the long staircase. I stood there, listening to his footsteps until they were finally too far away to hear. I looked up at the virtual sky and observed it. The only clouds present are the ones near the World Tree's branches. No other clouds are floating in the sky, not even near the horizon. Before I logged off earlier, I would be able to hear the gusts of wind blowing past me, or the virtual birds chirping. This time however, I heard absolutely nothing. The sky and everything around me was dead. And I felt like that inside of me too.

I pushed myself off the statue and stood up straight. I don't necessarily know if Sugu will go along with Kazuto and meet him at the northern terrace, but I can't just sit still with so many things wrapped up in my mind. I might as well explore Alne a little bit more until I feel like it's time to head back here to the World Tree. Or at least until Kazuto messages me back. I made my way to the staircase and began making my way down. As I did, I noticed a little fellow in green making his way up it. He looked rather tired from doing it too. As I got closer, the figure in green began more and more recognizable until I determined it to be Recon, Leafa's friend whom we met back in Swilvane.

"Oh, Recon!" I greeted him. "It's nice to see you again. You got here surprisingly quick."

"Hmm? Who are…" Recon began but stopped to observe my face. "Oh, it's you! That Imp who was traveling with Kirigaya-san, I mean, Leafa-san."

"You know Leafa in real life?" I asked him.

"Yes, I do. Wait… Do you?" Recon questioned me.

I was about to ask him if he was stupid when I realized that he doesn't know we are her brothers in the real world. Well, it's not like we knew back then either since we figured it out just now. I was about to tell him that we were siblings but found it rather odd and sudden to inform him about that information. Even though he's going to find out later anyway, I decided not to tell him of our relationship. I'll leave that to Kirito and Leafa's hands.

"No, I don't." I lied to him. "If Leafa's real name is Kirigaya, then you should be more careful. It's pretty bad, almost taboo, to reveal personal information online to people you don't know."

"Y-Yeah… Sorry about that…"

"Don't apologize to me idiot…"

"Oh yeah! I'm stupid… P-Please forget what I said."

"Yeah, yeah. I will, don't worry."

I walked past Recon and continued my descent down the staircase.

"Oh, where's Leafa-san?" Recon questioned me.

"Oh uh… She had to log off for a bit." I told him. "She didn't really tell us how long she will be back, but when she does come back, she should spawn at the entrance of the World Tree."

"Okay, thanks!" Recon said, waving his hand good bye. He sprinted up the staircase and I proceeded to walk down the staircase.

As I walked down, I found the streets empty, or at least emptier than it was earlier. Only a handful of players were present amongst the NPCs but all of them were sparsely spread out. I continued walking down the upper streets of Alne. I found the current region rather boring since it was mainly inaccessible homes and a whole bunch of elvish architecture despite it being a world of fairies. Actually, now that I remember it, Alfheim, or Álfheimr, is supposed to be the Land of the Elves in Norse Mythology. In fact, I don't even remember fairies being in Norse Mythology. Regardless, this section of Alne is rather boring. I should probably head towards the lower districts where there's bound to be more people. I summoned my wings and violently launched off the ground.

I soared through the air, directing my body towards the central districts. I found the market district of the city, which we didn't pass through earlier. At first I didn't think of dropping by, but then I remembered the struggle we went through when we took on the World Tree. Since both Kirito and I lack in magic, I might as well get a few healing items. I should also replenish my supply of throwing picks and knives. Actually, it might be better to get completely new armor in all since the equipment in this city must be a lot better than the crappy ones back in Swilvane.

I made my way to the plaza where a handful of people noticed me flying. I landed like a plane, swooping down before touching down to the ground. I continued to run for a few more meters since I couldn't stop right away without falling over. When I felt the forces on my body lower, I made a complete stop and looked around. The current market plaza I was in seems to be built inside a garden. The outer edges of the garden had stone walls with a few staircases that acted as the entrance and exit ways of the plaza. The stone paths were shaped like rings, only connecting at the points where the main stairway path was located. There were three rings total, each getting progressively smaller until it reaches a rather large tree at the center of the plaza. Next to this tree was a statue of one of the fairy guardians inside the World Tree.

The green spaces between these stone ring paths were mostly used for plants and other decorations, but there were still numerous stands located about. Food items, home decorations, standard clothing, jewelry, weapons, armor and tools for other actions. I walked to one weapons stand and observed the weapons. The weapons are not much better than the ones I have on me now. On the other hand, the armor was significantly better than the ones in Swilvane. But first, I should probably ask the people in the area to see if there are any better stands. I turned around and noticed a large dark-skinned Gnome walking nearby. From the looks of it, he seems to be a lot older than I am. Maybe around Cayonz's age or even older.

"Hey, ossan!" I called out to the Gnome.

"Ossan?" the Gnome grumbled, looking at me with contempt. "That's not a nice way to greet someone in the streets now is it, little Imp?"

"Sorry, but can you lead me to the weapons shop that gives the best equipment? I'll buy you anything for compensation. Name your price." I promised him.

"Hmph…" the Gnome snorted. "Saying such a thing in Alne will only get you embarrassed, considering how expensive some items can get here. Well, I was heading to the weapons shop anyways to browse the inventory. I'll lead you there."

"Thanks"

I followed behind the Gnome, keeping a meter distance between us just in case he decides to do something. I followed him down the main stone paths, moving increasingly closer to the tree at the center of the plaza. We then stopped by a stand right next to the fairy guardian statue, where a whole bunch of weapons and armor were being displayed. All of them were definitely of higher quality just by looking at them. I saw the prices of the other store earlier and they were about the same as the ones in Swilvane. If what the Gnome said is true, then this store could affect my balance even if it's just by a little bit. Plus, I'm guessing this Gnome is going to want me to buy some expensive item for him. I'm guessing its either going to be jewelry or some piece of equipment. I can't think of anything more expensive in this game except for maybe a magical staff. And even with the sum of money I gave the Sylph and Cait Sith lords, I still have over one trillion Yrd.

The Gnome and I scanned through the NPC's directory. One-handed swords, rapiers, katanas, broadswords, shields, lances… This shop literally had everything this game provided a Skill Slot for, and possibly at the best quality. Of course, there are Player-Crafted weapons which can be much, much better than ones you buy in the shop. Then there are Demon Weapons like Eugene's _Demonic Sword Gram_. Eugene's sword however seems to be one of a kind unlike most  Demon Weapons. If I recall, Kirito's _Elucidator_ back in SAO was a  Demon Weapon. Now I'm just getting off topic… I need to find myself some new equipment.

I first started with replacing my sword with another sword called _Obsidian Blade_. It looked similar to Zed's _Dark Repulser_ , but it had a black-purple sheen to it rather than the cyan color. I made up my mind and bought two of them so I could dual-wield the blades since I've grown a bit more comfortable dual-wielding than using a single sword. When I purchased the two blades, the Gnome and players around me looked at me with eyes and mouths wide open. Both blades costed me around fifty-thousand Yrd each, totaling up to the same price as Leafa's katana. I ignored their looks and replaced my uncomfortable tunic with a higher quality tunic. It was made of sleek black leather which was outlined with a silver-colored metal. Unlike Swilvane, the store also sold greaves and boots along with gauntlets and bracers. I haven't leveled my Leather Armor skill nor my Light Metal Armor, so it didn't matter to me which type of armor I wore. As long as it was lightweight and protective, it would do me just fine. And so, I bought myself black metal boots and black fingerless gloves. I didn't bother with gauntlets since I wanted to maintain a good grip on my swords. I then replenished my supply of throwing picks and knives and even upgraded it by buying higher quality ones. I equipped all of my new items and everyone around me just stared.

"Just how much money do you have?!" the Gnome questioned me. I was about to answer him when I forgot I shouldn't really tell others of just how much money I had.

"Eh, that's none of your business. Now tell me, what do you want?" I asked the Gnome.

He was hesitant at first but then looked at the store. He took a battle-axe hanging off the ceiling of the store and handed it to me. I checked the price tag of the item and noticed that it was seventy-thousand Yrd. Slightly more expensive than a single _Obsidian Blade_ but it didn't matter to me. I bought the item without even pausing and gave it to the Gnome via the trading menu.

"Thanks for showing me around ossan!" I said, waving good bye to the Gnome.

"Pleasure doing business with you Fairy-san!" the NPC vendor said good bye as well.

I walked away from the store, with my cloak trailing behind me. My twin blades crossed behind my back and people continued to eyeball them. I ignored the peering eyes and put my hands inside the pockets of my pants. I began walking away from the plaza when I remembered I needed to get healing items and such. I headed over to the nearest item vendor and bought numerous amounts of an item called _Spirit's Tear_ and another item called _Ancient Fruit_. All of them were rather expensive since they were instantaneous healing items which healed upon consumption. A new crowd of people eyeballed me due to my purchases and I swiftly left. I'm completely ready to take on the World Tree again, but I decided to continue looking around the plaza. Near the most isolated part of the plaza, at the second stone ring, there was a lone stand which had some interesting items on display – masks.

I walked up to the NPC who greeted me with the standard greeting lines given to all NPC-Vendors in the game. These masks were obviously for festivals and parties, so none of them provided any stats such as the ones Violet and Rizer created for me back in SAO. However, I did find one that suited my tastes. It strongly resembled XaXa's own skull mask, except without the red eyes and that it had a matte black paint on it rather than the natural skeleton color. I smiled and bought the mask without hesitating. I quickly put it on and pulled my hood over my head. More people eyeballed me, some even showed a sense of fear. Now I feel like myself again, though I do not know if that is a good thing or not. I should probably head back to the entrance to the World Tree.

I summoned my wings and carefully took off since there were people around me. When I was safe to speed on out of the plaza, I did so with haste. My hood managed to stay on my head, and there seemed to be an invisible wall in the eye sockets of my mask since the wind didn't seem to be getting through. It would be annoying if that was the case, considering my field of vision is slightly reduced already due to the shape of this mask. I'm going to have to ask Violet and Rizer to replace this should we decide this to be our new SAO. As I was flying towards the World Tree, I suddenly remembered that Kirito was waiting in the northern terraces for Sugu. I was worrying for a bit until I decided to just head over there and see what was going on.

I quickly ascended even higher, gaining more altitude since the northern terraces were in the upper sections of Alne. As I made my way there, I noticed the gleam of two objects on the roof of a building. When I focused in on them, I noticed that they were Kirito and Leafa's swords. What the hell are they doing there? I swooped down and landed on the roof. I inspected the weapons and confirmed that it was indeed theirs. I looked up at the sky but I didn't see them anywhere near. However, there were floating islands hovering above parts of the city. They may be there. Since there is no map to track friends, I just decided to head over to the floating islands. I held both of their blades on my right hand and flew to the closest sky island. I touched down on the island and scanned around the area. This sky island had some sort of ruins on it. A few standing pillars and a fallen one. Other than that, there wasn't much since it was so small. They weren't around here so I looked further up towards the second sky island. That's when I saw them both, a great distance away from my current position.

Kirito and Leafa were embracing each other in mid-air. They were talking but I could not hear their words due to the wind and the considerable distance between us. I simply watched them seemingly dance through the air. I could barely make out Leafa's face, which was leaking out tears from her eyes. Kirito on the other hand was smiling. His smile hinted me that they may have made up on what had happened earlier, at least I hope so. I couldn't possibly fix a problem like that considering how apathetic I can be sometimes and since my relationship with Suguha isn't as strong as Kazuto's. I didn't want to disturb the moment, but I felt a sense of urgency. I used the hilt of Leafa's katana and knocked it on the column next to me. They both turned to my direction and looked down towards me.

"Huh? Who are you?" Leafa questioned, unable to recognize me due to my slightly new appearance. Tears were falling from her eyes.

"Katsu-nii? Is that you?" Kirito asked me.

"Yeah." I answered. I then held up their swords. "I don't really know what happened, but I think you guys will be needing these back, especially you Kazuto."

"Oh, our swords! Thanks for managing to get them. I didn't want to have to struggle in searching. Anyways, what's with the new look?" Kirito asked as he and Leafa took the swords back.

"Well… After what happened earlier… I was looking for something to do so I could get my mind away from everything. Since I knew you were going to take on the World Tree again, I thought I needed an upgrade. After all, Swilvane had some crappy equipment. Oh, and I also bought a whole load of these things called _Spirits' Tears_ and _Ancient Fruits_."

"Wait Katsu-nii… How many of those did you buy?" Leafa asked.

"Uh… twenty of each item. Why?"

"Katsu-nii, just how much money do you have? Those items are amongst the most valuable healing items in the game!"

"I have over one trillion Yrd on me right now."

"How is that possible? I thought you guys just joined the game?"

"Yui informed us that ALO runs on the same engine as SAO. Since our character data from SAO is saved into our NerveGears and FullDive account, the system must have altered this data to fit the parameters of the game."

"Uh…" Leafa stuttered. I let out a long sigh. I don't think she understood that fully.

"Don't worry about it Sugu." Kirito told her. "But I do have to ask you something… This might seem a bit selfish, especially after what had happened, but will you help us get to the top of the World Tree?"

It grew silent rather quickly. I shifted around nervously as we waited for Suguha's response. She looked down to the ground, her eyes showing sadness. She closed her eyes and a smile grew on her face. She then looked back up and gazed at us.

"Yes… I'll help you guys." Leafa smiled. "We're family after all, aren't we?"

"Sugu…" Kirito smiled back. He then walked over to our cousin and embraced her. "Thank you."

"Ah, d-don't mention it." Leafa stuttered. Her face blushed a bit.

"Not trying to ruin the mood or anything, but thank her after we get to the top of the tree." I grumbled. "I'm getting a strange feeling about the events that are about to happen."

"Yeah… Katsu-nii is right. Let's go! I'll get Recon to help out as well!"

"He's here?" Kirito asked.

"He came to the entrance of the World Tree soon after you left." I informed him. "I thought you had at least spotted him while you were traveling to the northern terraces."

"No, I didn't. I guess we took different paths. Where is he now?"

"He should be waiting in front of the entrance of the tree. I told him to stay there while I met up with you Onii-chan." Leafa explained.

"Okay, let's go then!"

 **(Leafa)**

 **A few minutes later, entrance of the World Tree**

We climbed the long staircase up to the entrance of the Tree. I could see Recon pacing around at the top, but it doesn't seem like he's noticed us yet. Kazuto-nii walked beside me while Katsu-nii lagged a bit behind us. He got a bunch of looks from people down in the city due to his unique and intimidating appearance. The twin black blades and his mask especially makes him more menacing. After all, not many people dual-wield weapons. I haven't seen Katsu-nii dual-wield, but if Kazuto-nii, who beat Eugene, can't even beat him, then that means Katsu-nii really is on another level.

"Was dual-wielding popular in SAO Onii-chan?" I asked Kirito.

"No. It was only me and Katsumoto." He responded.

"Huh? How come?" I asked him.

"In SAO, there are Sword Skills which make your attacks much more powerful. However, you cannot perform these Sword Skills with two weapons at the same time. The thing is, Katsu-nii and I received a Unique Skill which gave us the ability to do just that. According to the creator of SAO Kayaba Akihiko, our reaction times were basically the same, so the system gave the skill to both of us on accident."

"And if you never got the skill in the first place, I doubt you'd be as famous as you were in-game." Mortifer added in.

"Oh, you were famous Onii-chan?" I asked Kirito.

"Both of us were. Katsu-nii was way more popular than I was, though it was in a bad way." Kirito grimly answered.

"Now that you mention it… Katsu-nii, you said earlier that you had these voices in your head or something. What's that about?"

Kirito tugged on my shirt sleeve hard, causing me to stumble a bit. I looked at him questioningly and he signaled me to cut the chatter. I looked back to Mortifer, who had stopped several steps below us. He was looking down to the ground and clutching his head with his right hand. He took a seat and continued clutching his head.

"You guys act up now, of all times?" Mortifer mumbled.

"Huh?" I questioned him. Kirito then grabbed my hand and forcefully dragged me upwards. "Onii-chan. What's wrong?"

"Ignore Katsu-nii. He was just talking to himself." Kirito told me.

"Talking to himself? Why?"

"We'll tell you about it, sooner or later. I think… Come on, let's get to the top."

Kirito continued to drag me up the staircase while we left Mortifer behind. Recon has finally noticed us and is waiting at the top of the staircase. However, I was still curious as to why they won't tell me about those voices Katsu-nii talked about earlier. Does it have something to do why he's changed so much ever since coming back from SAO? After all, it's not every day you hear someone talk about voices being in their head. I was just too distracted by the thought of Kirito being Kazuto-nii that the things Katsu-nii said just went in one ear and out the other. If only I could remember the other things Katsu-nii said during that argument he had with Onii-chan…

"Leafa-chan! Welcome back!" Recon greeted me, waving enthusiastically. "Oh? The Spriggan is with you now. Did you guys make up?"

"Yup. We're all good now." I answered him with a smile.

"Where's the Imp? I saw him earlier.

"He's behind us, down the staircase. He needed to rest for a bit." Kirito explained to him.

"Is that so? Okay then. So, uh… what are we going to do now?" Recon questioned me.

"We're going to go raid the World Tree." I told him. I then pointed a finger to Kirito. "Him, Mortifer back there, you and me. The four of us together will take on the World Tree challenge and make it to the top of the tree."

"A-All right… Wait, what?!"

Recon, who was slouching as if drowsy, jumped awake instantly after I stated our objective. His mouth was gaping open from shock. I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned around to look. Mortifer's head popped into view as he slowly walked back up the staircase, slouching a bit as if tired or bored. Recon saw him and his expression changed from shock to one of questioning.

"Is that the Imp?" Recon wondered. "What's with the new outfit?"

"What? Can I not change my appearance every now and then?" Mortifer grumbled at him. He seemed a bit irritated, possibly because of those voices he spoke about earlier. "Eh, whatever… Let's just hurry up and get this over with. I'm getting a really bad vibe from the Voices. We shouldn't waste another second loitering around."

"All right, let's hurry up then. Yui, are you here?" Kirito called out. Yui appeared on his left shoulder and gracefully landed on them.

"What is it, Papa?" the pixie girl asked.

"Did you learn anything when we fought the guardians?"

'Their individual stats aren't very high, but there is simply too many of them to defeat. Because of that, I have to assume that completing this quest was never possible to begin with."

"So together, they all add up to one, single, unbeatable boss?"

"Well, with you and Oji-chan's skills and experience, it may be possible to break through with an immense burst of speed. However, you would need to make a big opening in the wall that they form using their own bodies. If it's too small, they can quickly reform the wall with ease."

"May I add something as well?" Mortifer interrupted. "The guardians seem to have a different targeting system than the ones we see here in ALfheim. When I threw Kirito ahead of me, all the guardians ignored me and went straight for Kirito. They prioritize targets closer to the top of the tree, which made me think that it would also prioritize targeting any mages or healers, should there be any. We want you guys to heal us since we will be going in head first, but you need to be wary of your surroundings and not get caught off-guard. I don't want to have to come flying in to save your ass every now and then."

"A-All right then." Recon nervously responded.

"Speaking of healing, focus all of it on Kirito. He's more reckless than I am, making him much more careless."

"Just saying that makes you more reckless." Kirito scolded our brother.

"I have healing items on me so I should be fine. I'll give you guys some since I have a bunch of them." Mortifer said as he opened his inventory.

He materialized a pile of _Spirits' Tears_ and _Ancient Fruits_ , causing Recon's mouth to drop open even more. Kirito grabbed a bunch of the fruits since they restore health and grabbed none of the tears since they restored mana. Recon and I took both since we would be using Magic while having to deal with the threat of the guardians. Just that short encounter I had with them made me realize just how dangerous they could be when in numbers. When we finished taking from Mortifer's stash, my brother drew out his two swords from his back, and held it tightly. He looked at us and smiled through his half-mask.

"Let's go kill some robot fairies." He said as he literally kicked open the giant door.

The doors opened quickly, and air quickly rushed inside, creating a suction feeling around me. Without hesitation, Kirito and Mortifer rushed inside, with their weapons out and looking for prey. Recon and I ran in a few moments later and ascended the cylindrical room with haste since my brothers were not stopping. It was only seconds before Mortifer already began taking on a horde of enemies by himself while Kirito focused on killing one of them at a time. Recon and I hovered in place as we didn't need to do anything yet. We watched my brothers truly show their skill with the sword, slaying guardian after guardian.

Kirito, with his giant Gnome sword, hacked and slashed through his enemies, delivering powerful, savage blows. Even though the sword was meant for a strong Gnome player, Kirito wielded it like it was nothing. After our duel, I've come to realized just how strong my brother is due to his two years of experience in SAO. He must've been a top player there if his skill with the sword is that high level. Even so, it can't even compare to that of Mortifer.

If every battle had some sort of background music playing, Mortifer seems like he is dancing to it. Every one of his movements were made with grace. Whenever he dodged an attack, the enemy's blade slid harmlessly off his clothes. Whenever he attacked, he would make sure to deal a killing blow or at least hit multiple enemies. When he glided through the air, Mortifer spun around. At first, I thought that he was simply showing off, but then I realized he is doing that to get extra momentum when he begins his next attack. The force he builds while he spins is enough to cut the guardians like a hot knife through butter. Not only that, he's done it so many times without getting dizzy, causing me to wonder whether or not he is still human.

"Leafa-chan!" Recon shouted out to me.

His voice broke me out of the trance I fell into while watching my brother fight. I looked back at Kirito and noticed he's taken quite a bit of damage. Recon and I raised our hands in front of us and targeted Kirito as we chanted out our magic spells. Kirito's health bar restored itself to full and the wounds on his body faded away. He looked back at us and smiled. That's when a guardian suddenly flew up to his blindside and began preparing for an attack. I was about to shout out to warn him but Mortifer had already reacted and swiftly dispatched the enemy.

"Pay attention to the battle Kirito!" Mortifer commanded.

"Sorry…" Kirito grumbled back in response, a bit irritated.

The two split up once again and resumed their onslaught. Even though they were killing so many enemies in a minute's time, the number of guardians did not seem to be dwindling. In fact, it seems there were more guardians in the room than it originally started with. Not only that, we haven't even reached the half-way mark to the top.

After a while, Mortifer has finally began taking this from the guardians. There were simply too many of them surrounding him, so he's forced to fly away most of the time now. Originally, it was to stall for Kirito, but our brother was also having a lot of trouble trying to get to the top. The archer guardians have finally come out, so they were getting hit by long range attacks they can't possibly hope to see with everything else that's going on around them. Recon and I have also been hit by stray arrows that were originally meant for Kirito or Mortifer. The room began getting so crowded, that Recon and I had to descend just so we weren't in all of the chaos. However, that didn't stop a few of the guardians from targeting. Just like what Mortifer said earlier, a few of the guardians began targeting me and Recon since we were healing Kirito's injuries. Before we could do anything however, Mortifer would always swoop down and kill them off before they even reached us. He would then fly back up so he wouldn't attract a horde of enemies to us. In fact, he dove headfirst into a horde of nearly a hundred guardians and disappeared from our sights.

I turned my attention back to Kirito, who is getting hit more often now due to the increase in numbers. Recon and I had to use one of my _Spirit's Tears_ to replenish our mana, allowing us to heal my brother once again. Kirito was now being more cautious and even held an _Ancient Fruit_ in his hand in case of emergencies. The situation was becoming very grim. I was about to draw my sword and go fight with my brothers when Recon suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Leafa-chan, wait…" Recon told me. I stopped my actions and looked at him. "I don't really understand why we are taking on the World Tree, but this is important, right?"

"It is…" I declared grimly. "I don't think it's just a game anymore. At least not now. I've told myself that I would help them get to the top of the tree, no matter what happens."

"Then… Then I'll try something to help out!" Recon openly declared as he faced the legion of guardians.

"What?! What are you talking about?!" I questioned him. He didn't respond and simply flew straight into battle. "R-Recon! Wait!"

I told myself to chase after him, but I couldn't move my body. I was just too stunned to see the boy who had always cowered in fear behind me dive right into the heat of the battle. Recon began casting an offensive spell called Vacuum Blades, a spell that gives the user a deadly long-ranged homing weapon with five uses. Recon began moving his right hand as if attacking with a sword. When he did, he sent out a powerful air blast onto the guardians, killing one guardian instantly. He used it again, but this time, taking down four guardians with one attack. Due to his actions, several of the nearby guardians who were targeting my brothers turned around to confront Recon.

"Y-You idiot! You won't be able to fend them off if you attract that many!" I shouted out to him. I then looked back to Kirito who was forced to consume his _Ancient Fruit_ since I was distracted by Recon's actions. "You won't be able to fend them off if you attract that many, Recon!"

Recon ignored my statements and continued to attack the guardians, gaining the attention of at least twenty guardians. Some of those guardians changed targets and went after me, but Recon quickly dispatched them with a single wind blade strike.

"Recon, that's enough! You need to get outside, while you still can! We won't be able to make it to the top!"

The Sylph boy continued to ignore my words and used the last of his wind blades to kill off a few enemies that were too close for comfort. Recon turned his head towards me and smiled. It was an expression I've never seen him do, especially in a situation like this. Although he was far away, his eyes conveyed a bad feeling to me. That's when Recon quickly ascended right into the heart of the guardians' army. He then threw away his flight support controller, leaving himself completely immobile. He then held out his hands in front of him, and began casting a spell with words unbeknownst to me. A sphere of words formed around him and I gasped since this word formation was exclusive to dark magic spells. These words of power began glowing intensely. It became so bright that Recon looked like a second Sun. The hundreds of fairy warriors around him remained outside of his sphere, hesitant to attack the Sylph.

I was frightened about what was going to happen, when a hole suddenly formed within the ranks of the guardians. Mortifer, who had been lost inside the army of guardians, came flying out of the whole. He then did something a player should never do to an ally when they are casting any sort of spell:

Interruption.

My brother tackled Recon, causing his dark magic spell to fail. Recon suffered the Spellword Fumble Effect, and caused a large explosion which hurt both him and Mortifer. They came falling down to me and I was forced to catch Recon since he had thrown away his support controller. Mortifer regain his balance, but took severe damage from Recon's explosion. Recon recovered and summoned his support controller. He hovered next to me, completely livid.

"What the hell man! Why did you do that?!" Recon shouted at Mortifer. "Because of you, I failed the spell and both of us took severe damage!"

"R-Recon, c-calm down. I'm sure Mortifer had his reasons." I stuttered since I was scared and didn't believe in my own words. "Here, I'll heal both of you up."

"Don't bother healing me…" Mortifer stated. He then went over to Recon and grabbed him by the collar. He pulled the Sylph boy close to his face. "Tell me the words, now."

"W-What?" Recon stammered.

"I said tell me the words to the spell! I'm an Imp, so I'm naturally better in dark magic than most people even if I don't have it leveled up."

"Do you even know what spell I was trying to cast?!" Recon questioned him.

"I've seen many facial expressions in my life. The one you showed earlier tells me that you are willing to give up your life for Leafa's sake. If you express that while casting a rather violent looking spell, it gives it away to people who can read others."

Mortifer and Recon's conversation had me completely lost. And since Mortifer had backed away from the guardians, Kirito is being chased by the entire legion of guardians. He didn't bother trying to fight back since he would be overwhelmed if he did so. I looked back to the Imp and Sylph, only to see Recon whisper something into Mortifer's ears. I'm assuming it was the words to the spell he was casting earlier. When he finished, Mortifer quickly ascended back into the fray. He cleared away a large group of enemies before he began reciting the same incantation Recon just performed. This time however, the words of power glowed even brighter. Mortifer's "Sun" was almost twice as big Recon's, and seemed much more threatening. I finally had the guts to ask Recon the question that was still lingering in my mind.

"Recon, just what dark magic spell were you trying to cast?"

Recon looked at me with a nervous expression. He looked down to the ground as if he were ashamed. This action confused me, until he finally told me.

"It was the high-level dark magic spell, _Sacrifice_."

My eyes grew wide with shock. I looked back to Mortifer and wanted to call out for him, but it was already too late. Mortifer's body glowed brilliantly as it slowly disappeared. An explosion, ten times more powerful than Recon's spell failure, occurred at the heart of the guardians' army. It was so powerful that Recon and I were pushed back from the powerful wave of air pressure that collided into us. Kirito was also blown away and sent flying towards the walls of the room. He recovered himself and looked up at the aftermath. His eyes grew wide and so I turned to see what became of Mortifer.

As I thought, Mortifer was gone, since it was a self-destruct spell. However, there was an enormous hole in the ranks of the army. I could clearly see the top of the World Tree. Kirito did not hesitate to take this opportunity. He flew as fast as he possibly could, and ascended up the World Tree. He made it past the massive wall of guardians and got to a clear, open space behind them. I thought he could've made it when the all of the guardians began targeting Kirito at once. The swordsmen began throwing their weapons at him like what happened earlier, and the archers let out a deadly rain of more than a hundred arrows. Kirito was hit by multiple blades and arrows, causing him to slow down. My brother's health kept dropping and so he began reaching for another _Ancient Fruit_. He found one and was about to consume it when another guardian threw its sword, cutting off Kirito's hand from his arm.

"Kirito-kun!" I cried out for him.

Recon and I quickly began to heal my brother as he was confronted by a new group of fairies. The guardians didn't use their weapons, but their feet instead. They began kicking Kirito back down below their massive wall. When he passed through the hole Mortifer had created, newly spawned guardians quickly patched the hole up, making Mortifer's sacrifice in vain.

"This is impossible!" Recon exclaimed as we tried our best to keep Kirito alive.

With the barricade reformed, the guardians began targeting me and Recon. We were in the middle of healing my brother, leaving us vulnerable to any attack. Should we get hit now, both of us will suffer the Spellword Fumble Effect, and take serious damage. Worst case scenario… No, I can't think about that! Mortifer had just sacrificed himself so Kirito could get to the top. We can't lose now! We can't…

"Leafa-chan! Look!" Recon called out to me.

I turned to him and saw him point below us. Before I could even look to see, what he was fussing on about, I heard loud battle cries from below me. When I finally looked down, I saw a huge group of players passed through the World Tree's threshold. A battalion of at least fifty players in green came flying towards us. Close behind them, another large group of players who were riding on some sort of creature. When they got closer, I began to realize that they were riding on blue armored dragons.

"The Sylph Army?" Kirito said as he approached us. He was able to escape from the guardians since they s were distracted by the newly arrived guests.

"Not just the Sylph Army, but the Cait Sith's dragoons!" Recon shouted out in excitement.

"B-But why?!" I questioned.

A large squadron of Sylph warriors flew past us, along with a handful of Cait Sith dragoons to back them up. The guardians around me, Recon and Kirito have changed their targets and are now flying over to confront the warriors. I then felt a large gust of wind behind me, and looked to my side to see two very familiar faces, with one of them riding on top of a dragon. Upon realizing who they were, a huge wave of relief washed over me as the hope inside of me rekindled and burned furiously.

"Sorry we are late, Leafa." Sakuya apologized.

"Sorry! It took us a while to ready up all of our gear! We were worrying about being late to the party!" Alicia stated.

"No, you're just in time!" I happily exclaimed.

"Sakuya-sama!" Recon greeted her as he flew to the Lord.

"Recon? What are you…" Sakuya began but she stopped. "Never mind that. It seems you guys are in a very ugly situation. I wish to speak to you later and reward you for your contribution in helping us from Sigurd's betrayal."

"R-Reward?!" Recon squeaked.

"You guys!" Kirito suddenly interrupted. He pushed Recon away and went face-to-face with Sakuya and Alicia. "I need your help! Mortifer, my brother, he used a self-destruct spell. His Remain Light is in the heart of the army. Please, help me find it so we can resurrect him!"

"Understood. How long ago did he die?" Sakuya asked.

"Not too long ago. About a minute or so."

"We have plenty of time then, but we should get to him as soon as possible, or more guardians will spawn. Let's make haste, Alicia!"

"Yeah!" the Cait Sith Lord shouted. Alicia flew to meet up with her army of dragoons. "Everyone, prepare your breath attacks!"

"Sylph warriors! Prepare for a follow up attack!"

"Dragons! _Fire Breath_!"

Kirito, Recon and I watched in awe as all of the tamed blue dragons around us opened their mouths and released a red-hot beam of flames at the guardians. Each beam was directed at different portions of the army, and each of them exploded to take out at least ten enemies with one attack. Due to the number of dragons, at least a hundred guardians were incinerated. However, the enemy army now numbered in the thousands, making the hundred guardians who had perished seemed irrelevant. That's when the Sylph warriors began their follow up attack. The green warriors pointed their swords towards the wall of guardians, and the tip of their blades glowed a brilliant sky blue.

" _Fenrir Storm_ … Fire!" Sakuya commanded.

All the Sylph warriors with glowing swords released the powerful wind-attribute magic. Green bolts of lightning were emitted from every single blade, and decimated every single guardian that was unfortunate enough to be caught in it. The mixture of dragon flames and the green lightning created a rather unusual light show which made Recon giddy with excitement.

"So cool!" Recon beamed.

When the odd light show ended, it was revealed to us that the guardians' vanguard was completely annihilated. Hundreds of robot fairies were taken down by that combination attack and it created a rather large hole at the center of the army where most of the attacks were directed. In this open space, I could see a purple flame floating about. My eyes widened and I quickly pointed to the flame.

"Over there! It's Mortifer's Remain Light!" I shouted in glee.

"Let's go!" Kirito shouted, motioning for us to follow him.

"We will accompany you guys!" Sakuya added in. Alicia nodded her head and held the reigns of her dragons tightly. "We will need to revive him there, since the guardians will target us should we try to bring his Remain Light out of their reach. I've seen it happen before and it is not something you want to be caught in."

"Understood. We'll clear a path for you!" I declared as I drew out my katana.

Kirito flew ahead of us, slashing all enemies he came across and dodging any attacks that were about to hit him. I flew near Recon and the Lords and acted as their guard, killing any nearby guardians. Recon also began fighting using his Vacuum Blades spell, though he's already consumed three Spirit's Tears by doing so. We finally entered the heart of the guardians' army. All of the guardians were looking at us, but most stood still. Those who didn't however attacked us. Alicia, Recon, Kirito and I formed a small circle with Sakuya encased inside. She held Mortifer's Remain Light in her hands and began using her resurrection magic. The moment she spoke the first word of the incantation, all of the guardians' eyes turned red. They began a slow advance to us, making the open space smaller, and smaller.

"Sakuya-sama! Hurry!" Recon cried.

"Sakuya-chan, we're being surrounded!" Alicia rushed her companion. She then pointed towards the entrance of this open space. "Look! The exit is disappearing!"

Surely enough, new guardians were replacing the guardians who died from the Sylph and Cait Sith attacks. I could hear the Sylph Army and the Cait Sith dragoons calling for us to get out, but it was too late. The exit closed and we were surrounded on all fronts. The guardians then came flying at us, one by one. When they realized we could easily take on one at a time, they came in twos. All of us began taking damage, but he had to hold them off. Sakuya is almost done, and if she fails her resurrection of Mortifer, Mortifer's Remain Light will disappear, and we will be caught in the explosion from the Spellword Fumble Effect. We then held off the guardians to our last breath until I heard Sakuya utter out the final words of the incantation.

"There!" the Sylph Lord beamed.

Mortifer's light grew from a small ember to a flame as big as Sakuya herself. It burned brightly, forcing us to look away. When I did, I saw a guardian's blade approaching me. My guard was down and it is way too close for me to block in time. If I get hit hard on the face, I'll take some serious damage. Or even worse, death. That's when the light grew so bright I was forced to close my eyes. Around me, I could hear a myriad of guardians dying, as well as multiple boom-like sounds. When the light dissipated, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Kirito and Mortifer were flying all over the place. They had their swords held in front of them and they used their speed to pierce through the enemies and clear away a path for us. They were so fast that they were a bit blurry if I didn't focus on one of them specifically. The way they cleared away the enemies is as if someone was shoveling dirt out of the ground, creating crevices at the very top which got deeper and deeper the more they dug out. The two of them then stopped in front of all of us and smiled. The two of them then began tearing down the enemy forces, little by little. The Lords were amazed at the skill which Kirito and Mortifer fought. Kirito's powerful and reckless attacks and Mortifer's graceful and swift movements captivated the Lords. Mortifer then grabbed Kirito's arm, who began spinning around rapidly. Using the built-up energy, Kirito let go of Mortifer, who also spun around whilst holding his sword out to his sides. He created a tunnel in the army, like a drill going through a wall. The rate at which he spun was astonishingly fast. I was utterly amazed at how he could move his blades fast enough so he could hit all the enemies around him including the ones in front. Finally, he broke through the other side of the army where the rest of the Sylphs and Cait Siths were waiting. He stopped his spinning and halted in front of the players. A Sylph had to fly over and catch him since Mortifer was completely nauseated.

"Whoa…" Alicia gasped, completely astonished.

"You weren't lying about your brother being very skilled Kirito-kun. That man has truly mastered the use of his wings and used his experience with a sword to make a deadly technique.

"Let's get out of here! Quick!" Kirito suggested as he forcefully grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the tunnel.

"K-Kirito-kun, wait!" I pleaded as he went so fast, I felt like my face was going to peel off.

We exited the dangerous tunnel, with Recon, Sakuya and Alicia following behind us.

"Light em' up boys!" Sakuya commanded her soldiers with a charming smile.

The Sylphs and the Cait Sith performed their combination attack once again, giving us another light show. The number of guardians were decreasing rapidly, but the lights on the wall kept on flashing, giving birth to even more of them. It's like every time we take down a guardian, two or three more will take its place. The longer we stay here, the harder things are going to be. We need a way to break through.

"Sakuya-san. Alicia-san. Can you guys focus all of your attacks into a single spot?" Mortifer requested.

"We can do that, but why? We won't get as many guardians that way and they will only be replaced." Alicia questioned.

"I am aware of that already. Which is why I want you to focus everything to the guardians right above us." Mortifer stated firmly whilst pointing upwards.

We all looked up and didn't see a ceiling, but rather another army of fairy guardians. They were staying still for the most part, but they were also slowly descending, giving us less room to move and fight in. It becomes noticeable when you've been fighting for more than ten minutes.

"If you can just thin out the wall of guardians directly above us, I can pierce through and give us an opening. However, I suspect the guardians to reform their wall right away, giving us a rather short window. I can only carry two people if I want to fly in my maximum speed. Will you please allow us to get to the top before you?"

Mortifer stood in front of the Lords, giving them a deadly serious look. Kirito was behind Mortifer. His expression told me that he was desperate to get to the top. I looked at Sakuya, who noticed me staring at her. Her face was a bit conflicted, but when I smiled at her, she too smiled as well.

"Of course you may. We owe you guys a great debt after all. The only way we can repay you is to at least let you guys get to the top before us." Sakuya responded. Her smile then faded and was replaced by a sterner expression. "However, I do want something in exchange."

Although most of his face was covered, I could tell Mortifer was a bit irritated when I saw his mouth twitch. It seems he is getting a bit impatient.

"Okay… What do you want then?"

Sakuya hovered over to Mortifer and got very close to him. Their bodies were only centimeters apart. Sakuya began examining Mortifer's face close-up. From the looks of it, she seems to be wanting to see his eyes. She then whispered something into Mortifer's ear. Something I couldn't hear. I could see Mortifer's mouth move as if responding to her. A smile then grew on Sakuya's face. I looked to Alicia, who also seemed to be bewildered by the Sylph Lord's actions. Kirito also appeared to be confused, but he was also getting impatient. I then turned my attention back to Mortifer and Sakuya. Mortifer's arm started shaking slightly and I could see his grip on his sword get tighter. Is he doing that out of anger, or something else. He then moved the sword on his right hand and held it on his left. Mortifer moved his hand towards his face, and ripped his black mask away. He tossed aside the mask, letting it fall to the bottom of the room. Without warning, Mortifer grabbed Sakuya by her waist and pulled her into a kiss.

Literally everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked to see the spectacle. What in the world is Mortifer doing? I thought he already had someone he cared about greatly. I felt my face going red, and so I began slapping myself, hoping to stop myself from blushing and hoping that what I saw just now was not real. Unfortunately, it was real since Sakuya began wrapping her arms around Mortifer's neck. She pulled his head even closer to hers and they continued their make out session. I looked at Kirito whose mouth was wide open in shock. Recon, who was standing next to Kirito, was also in complete shock. I turned over to Alicia who seemed to be whimpering, as if she were jealous of Sakuya. All of the Sylphs and Cait Sith were also staring at Mortifer and Sakuya, completely ignoring the guardians who were slowly approaching us. It was a good twenty seconds before the two of them broke apart from this kiss. Mortifer held an angry expression while Sakuya seemed to be enjoying herself. She licked her lips and smiled.

"You're an amazing kisser. I truly am jealous of your girlfriend…" Sakuya purred. She then turned her head slightly to face her soldiers. "Sylph Army! Prepare to attack the guardians right above us! Alicia, please attack along with me."

"W-What? Oh! O-Okay!" Alicia stuttered since she was still captivated by Katsu-nii and Sakuya's actions.

"I had fun Mortifer-kun. Contact me if you ever break up with that girlfriend of yours." Sakuya told him as she touched Katsu-nii's chest with her hand.

The Sylph Lord finally broke away from Mortifer and ascended to meet up with her soldiers. Not long afterwards, I saw Mortifer spit out a huge wad of saliva. He rubbed his face with his free hand, clearly in a bad mood. He then flew over to me and Kirito and looked at us.

"This may seem reckless, but I need your help." Mortifer said. The anger in his face has disappeared and his serious face has returned. "If we all fly together and point our blades upwards, we can pierce through the enemy wall and make it to the top. I need you guys to fly at your maximum so you don't slow me down. The more speed we have, the easier it will be to break through. You guys understand?"

"Y-Yeah, but Katsu-nii…" Kirito began but Mortifer cut him off by lifting his sword up to close his mouth.

"We can talk about what just happened later…" Mortifer declared.

"Wait hold on… Katsu-nii?" Recon questioned. "Leafa, isn't that what you call your… Oh…"

Recon stopped speaking. He has now realized why I was so distressed earlier. He's probably thinking about reasons why I was upset at my brothers playing VRMMORPGs again despite them being trapped in SAO. Fortunately, he doesn't know anything about the love I had for both Kirito and Kazuto. He doesn't need to know it either.

" _Fenrir Storm_!" I heard Sakuya shout out from above us.

We all jolted back into reality as we realized the Cait Sith and Sylphs have already begun their attack.

"Hurry! Lock together!" Mortifer hurried us.

Mortifer sheathed one of his swords and used his spare arm to grab on to Kirito's coat. Kirito then grabbed on to my leather corset. I got my hands under Mortifer's cloak and grabbed the side of his armor. We pulled each other closer together and held on tight to each other.

"Now, we point our swords upwards!"

We did as we were told and pointed our weapons up to the sky. Although our three weapons were completely mismatched, it would still prove to be a devastating attack.

"Dragons! _Fire Breath_!" Alicia yelled out above us.

The Cait Sith dragoons unleashed fiery flames onto the guardians above us while the last of the Sylphs ended their Fenrir Storms. The guardians above exploded into purple dust clouds, neutralizing the remaining flames. When the dust cleared, there was an indentation in the guardians' army.

"Right there! Aim for that spot! Let's go!" Mortifer shouted.

Together, we blasted off towards the enemy army. I held my sword as stiff as possible so I wouldn't drop it while piercing through the enemies. But before we even reached them, a cone seemed to form around the three of us. Three symbols appeared at the tip of our swords. The Sylph, Spriggan and Imp symbols flashed at the tip of our swords and gave colors to the cone which formed around us. As soon as we made contact with the enemy guardians, they were instantly pushed aside by the colorful cone of energy. More and more guardians tried to stop us by standing in our way, but they were either killed or swatted aside like flies.

"Break through!" Kirito shouted at the top of his lungs.

I forced myself to fly even faster, as did everyone else. We made one last push and broke through the army of guardians. We were now flying in an open space, heading straight for the top of the tree at an incredible speed. We finally reached the entrance of the world tree. Our swords then became stuck on the cracks of the entryway, forcing our bodies to come to a complete halt. I then felt gravity change as it began pulling me down on the door of the World Tree. We all dispelled our wings and stood on the doorway. Below us, or rather above us, I could hear the Sylphs and Cait Sith cheering loudly. The whole which we broke through has now been reformed by newly spawned guardians. The army of guardians then began flying up towards us, their eyes flashing a bright red.

"Okay, let's hurry up and open this door!" Mortifer stated as he unsheathed his second sword and began using both blades to pry the door open. "How the hell do you open this thing again?"

"Shouldn't a door like this open on its own though?" I questioned them.

"Yui?" Kirito called out. Yui came flying out of Kirito's pocket and landed on top of the door.

"Let me see here…" Yui began as she put her tiny hands on the door. "T-That's odd… Papa, this door isn't locked by a quest flag. It's locked by the system administrators."

"Wait, hold on for a minute… So you're saying… that…" Mortifer began but he stopped. His face was filled with shock.

"This door… Players were never intended to be able to open this door to begin with!" Yui cried out.

"Wait, what?! What are you talking about?! This is supposed to be the door that leads to the top of the tree! The Grand Quest of ALfheim Online! Are you telling me that this was all just a lie? After we worked so hard?!"

"Sugu, we can complain about it later. Right now, we need to find a way to survive!" Kirito shouted.

We all held our weapons ready as guardians began surrounding us on all sides. Several guardians charged at us but we quickly dispatched them. Soon more and more guardians began approaching. I had to deal with three at once. Kirito dealt with four, while Mortifer was trying his best to keep twenty others from getting to us.

"No wait! Wasn't that…" Kirito suddenly shouted out. He cleared out the enemies near him and reached into his shirt pocket. He then pulled out the admin card he got earlier. "Yui! This card! Use this to open the door!"

"Yes! I'll do my best!" Yui resolved herself.

She placed her tiny hands on the card. Her hands glowed faintly while the card itself began forming orange lines on its surface. Before I could see what was going to happen next, I sensed a guardian approaching me, and so I quickly turned around and blocked its attack. I swiftly disarmed the guardian and cut of one of its arms. I then sliced through its entire body with my katana and kicked its body away before it could release a dust cloud on me.

"Yui, hurry up!" Mortifer shouted as he flew around us, killing as many guardians as he could.

I turned back to Yui, whose arms now have strange orange marks, just like the ones on the card. They quickly faded and Yui removed her hands from the card.

"I'm going to transfer the code now!" Yui stated as she descended to the doorway and touched it with her hands.

The entire doorway began glowing a bright orange. Not long after that, the floor we were standing on began opening up to reveal a very bright void that I couldn't see an end to. Kirito and I were forced to summon our wings and take flight since the ground we stood on is the opening door. Mortifer continued flying around us, taking out any and every guardian who goes for us.

"We're about to be teleported! Papa, give me your hand!" Yui exclaimed.

Kirito touched Yui's hands and he reached out for mine. I flew over and grabbed onto his own. Yui's body began forming a blue outline around it which traveled on to Kirito's arm as well. His body quickly formed the outline and then it began doing so on mine.

"Katsumoto! Hurry! We're about to be teleported!" Kirito shouted.

Our bodies began glowing brightly, to the point where I can't even look at myself. Mortifer stopped flying around in circles and quickly flew towards us.

"Katsu-nii! Hurry!"

I could feel my body disappearing. Katsu-nii was still so far away. I reached out my hand as far as I could.

"Katsu-nii! Grab my hand!"

"Ahh!" Mortifer yelled as he evaded all the guardians and flew right at me like a bullet.

In the final moment, Mortifer's fingers made contact mine, and he too formed an outline and began glowing white. The world around me began disappearing as I was immersed in a realm of white.

 **(Mortifer)**

I woke up, lying on a cold, hard floor. I slowly opened my eyes to see where I was. The light around me was blinding, and there was too much of it. The floor seems to be made of marble, and it was very glossy too. We were inside some sort of tunnel of light. The tunnel had an arc like shape to it, and numerous lights were built into it. Leafa is lying down on my right, with Kirito on my left. Yui was sitting next to Kirito, in her human form. The clothes she's wearing are the same as the ones she wore when she first appeared here in ALO, and the last ones she wore in SAO.

"Papa! Papa!" Yui cried out, shaking Kirito's arm, trying to wake him up.

Kirito and Leafa slowly got up. They too were blinded by the bright lights.

"Ugh… What is this place?" Leafa groggily asked. She then looked at Yui. "Wait… Who is that?"

"Yui?" Kirito asked, looking at Yui's human form. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. There is no mapping data." Yui informed us.

"Well, do you know where Asuna is?"

"Yes, I do." Yui stated. She closed her eyes and her body began to glow as she searched her information vaults. "She's close… Very close…"

Yui's eyes opened with a start. She jumped up to her feet and quickly turned around.

"It's this way!" she exclaimed before breaking off into a sprint. Kirito followed closely behind her.

"W-Wait up!" Leafa shouted at them. The two of us got up on our feet and chased after the two.

We traveled through the tunnel, which seemed endless. The same pattern of lights kept repeating itself for a minute. It was making me worry a bit since I do not like the feeling of being trapped in some endless tunnel like this one. I prefer it to be darker.

After a minute, Yui came to an abrupt stop and looked at the wall to her left. She pressed against the wall between the two lights built in to it. A circle of light appeared and faded as a hole was created in the wall, revealing yet another tunnel of light. This time however, it wasn't endless. There was a large circular door at the very end of it. We ran up to the door and Yui began pushing against it. Kirito helped her out, causing Leafa and I to join in and assist them. The door began moving and I could hear air rushing in through the cracks we made. Finally, we fully opened the door which disappeared and let us through. We walked pass the threshold and stood completely still.

We were standing on top of a leafy branch. Around us were more leafy branches, which were big enough to be like pathways such as the one we stood on. Below us was a sea of clouds. Further away from, there are no clouds present, allowing us to see the landscape below us at a view even higher than that of a bird in this game. There was a constant wind blowing, but nothing too powerful. A thin mist covered the air around us, which got denser the farther away you are trying to see. I looked up and saw only more branches and leaves. Even though we made it, there is still more things above us. However, I do not see the so called Floating City.

"Here we are, at the top of the world… The players of this game have been fighting so hard to get to the top. How disappointed would they be when they find out that the entire Grand Quest is a lie…" I grumbled out.

"I can't believe the creators would lie to us like that." Leafa whimpered.

"I know you guys are disappointed and all, but it can wait. We need to save Asuna." Kirito declared.

"Yes, of course." I responded. Leafa nodded her head in agreement as well. She smiled at us before quickly changing her expression.

"That thing up there…" Leafa wondered as she pointed to something above and behind us. "Is that a birdcage?"

"Birdcage?!" I exclaimed. Kirito and I quickly turned around and looked to see where Leafa was pointing.

Surely enough, there was a giant golden birdcage far above us, almost hidden in the tree's leaves.

"That's where Asuna is!" Kirito exclaimed.

He grabbed Yui's hand and broke off into a sprint. Leafa and I followed closely behind him. I tried summoning my wings to fly but I couldn't. It seems this area only allows for one to travel on foot. Or maybe it's because you are not allowed to fly past the height limit of this game. Since this region is outdoors, the height limit is present though it is far below us. I turned my gaze towards the golden birdcage and clenched my fists.

Asuna… We are here… We are coming…


	10. Chapter 9: The Truth Behind ALO

**Thirty minutes later**

The birdcage is so close, yet so far. We are currently at the same level of the birdcage, but we are also on the completely wrong branch. Because Yui has no mapping data of this tree, it has taken us over thirty minutes just to get to this point. The sun which was in the sky earlier, is now touching the horizon, giving the once blue sky an orange color. The clouds around the tree's trunk hasn't move, but the ones farther away have been blown away by the wind. And despite it being a big tree with lots of space, no animals were around us. I was thinking that the tree is too high to sustain any life here other than itself. Even now, all of us are needing to get used to the thinner atmosphere here. It is likely that in the real world, the air is just too thin to breathe.

As I was saying, we still have some distance to cover before we make it to the branch which Asuna's birdcage is located. We've tried calling out but it seems she can't hear us even though the air up here is quite thin and the surroundings are quiet. We've gone on multiple branches, running across the full length. Sometimes we had to run back since it was only a dead end. Other times, we went back inside the tree to find other tunnels that would help us get closer to Asuna. I wished we could fly up there so we can stop wasting our time in a place like this.

"Hey Katsu-nii…" Leafa began speaking after a half-hour of silence. "Why did you and Sakuya… You know…"

"Yeah, that surprised me too. I thought you loved Violet a lot." Kirito added in.

"Don't get the wrong idea. My heart and soul is for Violet only. However, I was forced to do that by Sakuya. It was part of our exchange." I explained to them. "When she got close to me, we were whispering to each other so nobody else would hear. She told me that I had captivated her with my strength, riches and appearance, and that she wanted to be with me. I told her I already had Violet, but that only made her jealous. She then told me that in order for us to get their help, I would need to show her my resolve for saving Asuna. I would also need to satisfy her lust for me. That's why I was so angry when you saw me talking to her since I already knew what she wanted me to do. You guys know the rest of the story so I don't need to tell you."

"First it was Kazuto-nii, now you? Gosh… I never knew Sakuya was that kind of person…" Leafa muttered out. "Her actions shocked me when I saw her with both of you guys."

"I'm sorry you had to do that Katsu-nii. Betray Violet and all." Kirito apologized to me.

"In my mind, the act isn't really betrayal since I strongly believe Violet would allow me to do that. Even if she didn't, I would still do it since Asuna's life depends on that kiss we had. What I do think is betrayal, is the fact that I enjoyed making out with her. During our session, I was starting to think that she was better at kissing than Violet. I seriously need to just stop what I'm doing and compose myself…"

"Haha… We're guys, so things like that tend to happen." Kirito laughed out. "Let's just hope that Violet will let it pass and not give you a beating for cheating on her."

"Hopefully she never finds out… But I feel like you guys are going to say something about it later."

"Don't worry Katsu-nii." Leafa smiled. "I promise you that I won't tell her anything."

"In my eyes, promise is a strong word. You better not go back on your word Sugu, or else I'll revert back to my former self, just for you…"

 **A few minutes later**

We finally made it to the branch Asuna's prison is located, and our destination is right in front of us. The golden birdcage was massive. It was shaped like a cylinder, with the top being circular like a dome instead of flat like a normal cylinder. It stood about ten meters tall and had a diameter of about six meters. A circular flower garden outlined the inside of the cage, around the walls. Protruding from one of the golden bars of the cage was some weird golden rod, which held up a large white sheet of sheer fabric. This sheet was connected to a large piece of furniture and acted like a veil for anybody on it. This piece of furniture was abnormally large, but I guessed that it was a bed. In front of this enormous bed, there was a golden-outlined red bench chair. Nearby, there were two chairs and a metallic table. On this table, a single glass vase with a dead rose stood.

Asuna was sitting on the bench chair, resting herself on her bed. She had her face buried in her arms, as if despairing. She must have known we were coming since she is the one who sent us that card. She's been waiting for us all this time, but now, we are here. Kirito and Yui picked up their pace while Leafa and I maintained it. My brother and niece reached the golden cage's entrance and grabbed on to the golden prison bars which have trapped Asuna ever since she was transported from SAO to here.

"Mama!" Yui cried out to her.

Not a second passed before Asuna instantly looked up to see whose voice was crying out for her. She turned to towards the entrance of her cage, and saw Kirito and Yui standing there. Leafa and I reached the cage and stood close behind Kirito and Yui. I could see Asuna's eyes begin welling up with tears.

"Mama, Mama!" Yui repeated.

Her body glowed as she swiped her hand against the cage's doors, causing it to disappear in a flash of yellow. She stepped foot inside of the cage and sprinted towards Asuna.

"Yui-chan!" Asuna cried out joyfully. Yui jumped into Asuna's arms and embraced her.

"Mama! I'm so happy to see you again!" Yui sobbed.

Both of them were crying tears of joy. Kirito stepped into the birdcage and slowly approached them. I looked over to Leafa, who was shifting around nervously. I elbowed her lightly, causing her to look at me. I smiled and motioned her to head over to greet Asuna. She obeyed, and slowly approached Kirito's girlfriend. Currently, Kirito and Asuna were embracing each other, with Yui in between them.

"Asuna, I'm sorry we are late." Kirito apologized.

"No…" Asuna corrected, shaking her head. "I believed in you… I knew you'd come to save me. I especially knew it when I heard Mortifer-san's voice calling out to me earlier today. You're not late at all."

My eyebrows furrowed as her words reached my ears. As I thought, it seems that the Voices gives me the unique and mysterious ability of being able to communicate telepathically by touching someone. Though it's one-sided communication, it is still pretty weird and useful. I'll ask Asuna about what exactly she heard from me later when we free her, or whenever I feel like it. Right now, I'll let the two of them enjoy their reunion.

"H-Hello, Asuna-san…" Leafa nervously greeted her. Asuna halted her embrace with Kirito and looked at the blonde Sylph. "M-My name is Leafa. In the real world, I'm Kirigaya Suguha… K-Kirito-kun's sister."

"Sister?" Asuna questioned.

"She's the one who guided us here to the World Tree. Without her, we would've taken a lot longer to get here." I informed her, taking a step inside the birdcage.

"Mortifer-san!" Asuna beamed. Her eyes which were already tearing up, is now tearing up even more. "I've never been so happy to see you again! And thank you Leafa-chan, for helping to save me. I am in your debt."

"N-No! It was nothing!" Leafa quickly responded, shaking her hands.

At that moment, the Voices inside my head grew audible. I became confused since I was in a cheerful mood, but then I felt my body go numb. No, wait... It didn't go numb, but rather all of the stimuli that was acting upon my body just simply disappeared. The cool breeze of the wind has halted. The sound of the gale is no longer reaching my ears. It's odd because the flowers are still swaying in the wind, as well as my cloak. Not only that, the aroma of flowers has disappeared completely. Even though I could no longer hear the wind, I could still hear everyone's voices.

"Okay, let's hurry up and go home together." Kirito suggested.

'Yeah." Asuna nodded.

"Yui, can you log Asuna out?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Yui grimaced while shaking her head. "Mama's status is locked down by complicated codes which I cannot bypass or even touch. We'll need a system console to remove them and log her out."

The Voices grew even louder, causing my entire body to go on alert. What the hell is going on with them? Also, is it me, or is it getting darker? I turned around and looked at the sun. Part of it remained above the horizon, and its radiant light is still blinding. In fact, the sky and branches around us appears the same as before. The only difference, is the birdcage which is noticeably darker than before. I scratched my head, confused and looked down towards the ground. My eyes grew wide with shock and my heart began pounding when I saw it. A wave of fear washed over me, causing me to instantly draw out both of my blades and hold them tightly. Kirito, Leafa, Asuna and Yui jumped from my sudden actions.

"Katsu-nii, what's wrong?" Kirito questioned.

"Something's coming. I can feel it!" I shouted. My body began shaking as I pointed towards the ground. "Look! Look at it! Look at our shadows!"

"Our shadows?" Leafa asked. All of them looked towards the ground.

"Katsu-nii, what's wrong about our shadows?" Kirito asked.

I removed the hood which had been covering my head and turned to Kirito. I gave him the most serious look I could ever give him in a situation like this. I used the sword on my right hand, and pointed down in front of me, where my shadow was located. I then revealed to him the reason why I was acting so anxiously.

"Look at it! My shadow! It's bending towards the light!"

Another wave of fear washed over me. This time however, it seemed to reach everyone else. Kirito quickly pulled out his giant sword, and stood in front of Yui and Asuna, looking to protect them. Leafa also unsheathed her katana, but her body was shaking so violently. Without warning, I began feeling a strong force pushing down against me. No wait… It isn't pushing me down, but rather pulling me down. Soon enough, everyone was on their knees except for me. Even so, it took all of my might to remain standing somewhat straight.

"Yui… What's going on?!" Kirito struggled.

Everything around us began disappearing. The orange sky faded into a dark void. The birdcage dissolved away into pixels, leaving nothing behind. We were now in a dark room, with a single circular light underneath an invisible floor below us. Leafa could no longer handle the pressure exerting on her, and she fell flat to the ground. I was finally forced to drop to one knee while Kirito and Asuna struggled to stay crouching. Yui's body suddenly started giving off weird purple sparks which traveled across the floor around her. She was struggling in holding herself up with Asuna.

"Mama! Papa! Be careful!" Yui cried out. "Something bad is coming!"

A second later, Yui's body broke down and faded away into nothing.

"Yui!" Kirito and Asuna shouted out in unison.

The two of them attempted to crawl to each other but to no avail. I managed to get off my knees again and made my way over to Leafa. She was completely pinned to the ground and could no longer move. She's attempted to push herself up but the gravitational force was simply too strong for her. It got even worse when the pull became even stronger, causing me to fall face first onto the hard, invisible ground. All of us were now pinned down to the ground. I struggled to reach my hand out for Leafa's but she couldn't move hers at all.

"What a surprise…" a voice unbeknownst to me began speaking. "I didn't expect to see so many cockroaches in my little bird's cage"

"Are you…" Kirito gasped out.

In front of me, a person's feet came to view. Based on the form of their feet and the voice I just heard, I determined it to be a man. He wore beige-colored sandals that had two straps. One going over the bridge, and one over the area right above the heel. He wore green robes which almost reached his feet. I tilted my head up slightly and noticed his enormous sized wings. His clothing and green-tinted wings made me think he was a Sylph. However, after closely inspecting his wings, I noticed they were shaped very differently from normal fairies. He may be a Sylph or some race that looks like it. I tilted my head up even more and managed to see the side of his face. He had long blonde hair that reached his shoulders. The guy had enormous elf-like ears which were also covered by some sort of metal strip at the top. He wore a crown that had a single emerald gem at the center of it. He held an expression that I've seen before. The expression worn when a god looks down upon the people he is controlling.

"Sugou?!" Kirito finished his sentence. The man shook his head and wagged his finger.

"I'd prefer that you not use that name in this world. Call me His Highness, the _Fairy King Oberon_!" Sugou shouted at my brother as he used his foot to stomp down on my brother.

"Kirito-kun!" Asuna cried out.

"Onii-chan!" Leafa joined in. I remained silent as anger began building up inside of me.

"How does it feel for you guys? You can barely move a muscle, right?" Sugou taunted us. "This is gravity magic which is coming out in the next update. Perhaps it may be a little bit too overpowered?"

Sugou continued to rub the sole of his sandals on Kirito's face, causing both Asuna and I to become even angrier.

"Stop it… You coward!" Asuna snapped.

"Well then… Kirigaya-kun, or do you prefer Kirito-kun? How did you manage to get up here to this little birdcage of mine?" Sugou questioned him. The foul man retrieved Kirito's sword and began swinging it around. "I saw a strange program running just now. A program which I've never seen in the logs ever since I created this world."

"I flew… With these wings!" Kirito lied to him. To solidify his claim, Kirito summoned his wings which now work for some reason. It wasn't working earlier.

"Heh, well it doesn't matter anymore. I can just ask your mind directly."

"What?!" Kirito wheezed.

"You didn't really think I set up this entire world up for fun now, did you? Thanks to the dedicated cooperation of three-hundred former SAO players, the fundamental technology for emotion and thought control is already eighty percent complete."

Emotion and thought control? Wait… Don't tell me he's saying what I think he's saying… No, it can't be.

"When this is all complete, I'll achieve something that no one has ever done! Control of the human soul! The power of a god! And soon, that power will be entirely mine to wield! Seriously, thank goodness for virtual worlds!"

Sugou, or Oberon, began laughing maniacally while all of us processed his words. Is it really possible for someone to become that powerful and control anyone and everyone at their disposal? Not to mention, the amounts testing he has to do in order to obtain the information he needs to manipulate the human mind… If he's been doing those tests on the SAO players who are still trapped in the game, then who knows what could happen to them once they get out of virtual reality.

"Sugou!" Kirito barked.

"Tampering with the minds of other people, that's just wrong!" Leafa decided to join in but I motioned for her to stop there.

"You will never get away with this! Never!" Asuna threatened him.

"Eh? And who exactly is going to stop me?" Oberon asked. He walked over to Asuna and pointed Kirito's sword to her face. "Sadly, there is no God in this world, except for me! Now, before I go start altering your souls, let's have a fun party, shall we?"

Sugou snapped his fingers and two pairs of chain cuffs fell from the black void above us. The cuffs clanged on the floor when it made impact. The chains holding the cuffs could have been infinite since I couldn't see the end of it above me. It just faded into the void like it was nothing. Sugou then crouched down and began cuffing Asuna's hands to the chains.

"You bastard, what do you think you're…" Kirito tried to finish his sentence but failed.

Sugou then moved on over to Leafa and did the same thing. He cuffed both of her arms to the chains and let her lay there. Sugou looked at Kirito and gave him a mischievous smile. Sugou pointed his index finger upwards, causing the chains to begin pulling on Asuna and Leafa. The two of them were lifted off of the ground for Sugou to see their entire body. Both of them continued shaking, so I'm assuming that the gravity magic is still affecting them, causing them great pain at their hands and wrists. Sugou began laughing lightly before he stuck his arms out and shouted:

"Now!"

The force of gravity became stronger, causing Asuna and Leafa to struggle even more. Red marks formed on their wrists indicating that they have been hurt due to the natural forces of accuracy.

"Great! I love it! NPC women just can't make the face you two are doing right now!" Sugou beamed. He approached Asuna and began sniffing her hair. "Ah, what a lovely smell that is… Replicating your scent from the real world was hard. I do hope you appreciate how much work it took to get an analyzer into your hospital room so he could obtain data on how he could replicate the smell."

"Stop it…" Kirito growled. Kazuto's face was full of rage. He was attempting to get up but the gravity magic was simply too strong.

"Kazuto… Stay down!" I begged him but he ignored me.

"My, my…" Sugou said, shaking his head. "Onlookers can just grovel on the ground!"

Sugou kicked Kirito on the face, causing him to fly a short distance before slamming back down to the ground. Oberon then brought Kirito's sword high up in the air before piercing my brother straight through his lower back. I could see the sword's tip protruding from Kirito's stomach. The Voices were getting louder and louder by the second. My anger is building up.

"Kirito-kun!" Asuna cried out.

Sugou left the sword inside Kirito's body and held out his right hand in the air.

"System command!" he shouted out. "Change pain absorber from level ten, to level eight!"

A small screen of light appeared, showing a green meter dropping from ten to eight. The solid lime green bar now held a yellow hue. Instantly, Kirito began crying out in pain. I could now feel pain in my body as the gravity magic continuously exerted its pressure. Sugou was delighted to see my brother in pain. I gazed into his green eyes and saw the egotistical bastard that he is. The Voices were basically screaming now. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. If my rage was visible to others, I would be like a volcano that is on the verge of erupting.

"It hurts, doesn't it Kirito-kun?" Sugou chuckled. "I'll gradually let the pain increase, so do look forward to that! Of course, anything below level three will start to affect your physical body too!"

At that moment, the volcano just exploded and is now releasing all of its lava and ashes everywhere. My rage wanted me to destroy Sugou and show him no mercy, and that is what I am playing on doing right now. I fought against the gravity and pushed myself up until I was on one knee.

"You better revert that pain absorber back to level ten you fucker…" I threatened him. "Cause if you don't, I will make sure that you regret hurting my family in front of me."

"Hm?" Sugou mused. "And what do you think you can do, Mortifer-kun? Or should I say, _Reaper of Sorrow_?"

My eyes grew wide at his words. A sense of worry built within me.

"You… How do you know that name?" I growled at him. Sugou smiled.

"It's easy to track down a mass murderer inside a game, but I do admit it was harder to find out who you were before your files were corrupted. Since I knew it was a player, I wished to track them down and deal justice upon them for taking so many lives. Lo and behold, I found a rather interesting player log which matched that of the murderer. The log I found just happened to be yours. The exact moment you supposedly died in SAO, an unidentifiable player joined the game. This player's stats were the same as yours at that very moment. It even had the same friends, items, and currently equipped items. I suspected you to be murderer, but to make sure, I interrogated Asuna-chan. She told me everything though she doesn't remember since I had her memories wiped."

"Y-You bastard!" Asuna shouted at him. Tears flowed down her cheeks. "Mortifer-san… I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry about anything Asuna…" I told her. "If I get caught and get sentenced to life in prison or death, then so be it. However, there's no way I'm letting this guy do what he wants!"

I forced myself to stand up. The force of gravity made me feel like I was going to be crushed should I lose my balance. Sugou began slowly walking towards me. He was grinning evilly and laughing on the inside. Oberon raised his fist and began swinging it towards my face. Even though his attack was completely predictable and slow, I couldn't move my arms fast enough. He punched me square in the face, causing me to lose my balance and fall back down. I felt pain from the punch, but it was only a slight sting. If the pain absorber is any lower, then I would've felt the full force behind his blow. He then walked over to Kirito and removed the sword sticking through him, causing my brother more pain due to his rough removal. Sugou then walked back over to me. His smile grew more sadistic.

"System command!" Sugou began shouting, raising his right hand outward. "Change pain absorber from level eight, to level six!"

The meter appeared once again, showing the drop of two levels. The punch he dealt on me earlier began hurting even more. Although I did not feel any pain on my eyes earlier, I could now feel a numbness in them. My jaws were also feeling a bit weird due to the internal shockwave caused by the punch. Sugou then stood over me, with Kirito's blade held out.

"Now, let me give you your retribution!" Sugou shouted maniacally as he used the giant blade to pierce right through my stomach.

Every muscle in my body contracted as a sudden, searing pain in my stomach appeared. The pain was definitely not something to laugh about. It is far more painful than getting hit with a bamboo sword without armor, and likely comparable to getting stabbed by a huge syringe. As if that wasn't enough for Sugou, he began moving the blade around my stomach, causing more waves of pain to wash over me. I wanted to shout out in pain, but I forced myself to cope with it. Sugou noticed my struggle and frowned.

"Why aren't you screaming yet? Come on, scream for me!" He shouted maniacally as he took the hilt of the blade and twisted it even more.

Another wave of pain washed over me. I couldn't really say if it was agonizing or not since I haven't experienced this level of pain in a while. The last time I've been through this level of pain was when I was hit directly hit by a drunk driver while going back home from school. I'm still surprised that I didn't die that day, though I shouldn't be thinking about that now, especially in this situation.

"You're going to have to do more than that to make me scream you god damn son of a bitch." I taunted him whilst smiling and laughing. Sugou's expression changed from delight to that of anger.

"Trash shouldn't talk back to those above them!" he snapped back.

Sugou looked around the room and began picking up all of our weapons. He took Leafa's katana, both my _Obsidian Blades_ , and even the small throwing knives I had on my belt. He threw them all out in the air and they began hovering right around him. He took one of my blades and quickly pierced through my torso, causing me more pain but not as much as the stomach. He pierced me again on my right shoulder with my other blade, and again on the stomach with the katana. He used my throwing knives and stabbed them all throughout my arms and legs. The pain was just getting worse and worse. I wanted to scream out in pain, but I'd rather die than give this guy what he wants. And what he wants right now, is to hear me plead for mercy.

"Just scream already you piece of shit!" he yelled.

"Never…" I responded weakly. Sugou became so angry, his veins began popping out on his arms and neck.

"System command! Generate object ID Excalibur! Quantity, five!"

My eyes opened wide as five familiar looking golden blades appeared out of thin air in front of Sugou. The _Holy Sword Excalibur_ … The strongest weapon in this entire game. I remember seeing it back in Jö tunheimr, but it was so far away that I could not see its details clearly. It was made of pure gold with two edges sharpened like katanas. The cross guard and grip were also made of gold. The pummel as well as the center piece of the cross guard was made of a bright blue crystal, making me assume it was some fictional mineral or maybe even diamond.

"System command! Give _Immortality_ to player ID Mortifer!"

A red hexagon, similar to the one I saw back then when Kirito fought Heathcliff, appeared above me. The words read "Changed into Immortal Object". At first I was confused, but when I looked at my health bar, I saw why. My health has dropped down to the orange zone due to the damage dealt on my body. If he stabs me with the most powerful weapon in the game, I may just perish and escape his torment. He's making me immortal so he can make this torture last for as long as he wants.

"Change pain absorber from level six, to level four!"

The pain became almost unbearable now. I couldn't breathe properly because of the pain I was feeling in my chest and stomach. I hated it, but it also prevented me from screaming out. Sugou then took three of the legendary swords and placed one in my abdomen, one in my left shoulder, and the third on my left leg. The pain I was experiencing must be what people call agony, because I could no longer think straight with all of the pain I'm receiving.

"Katsu-nii!" Leafa called out to me. She thrashed around in her chains, trying to break free.

"You bastard! If you hurt my brother any more than you have, I will make sure to return it to you a thousand-fold!" Kirito threatened. Sugou ignored my brother and instead held out his hand once again.

"System command! Change pain absorber from level four, to level two!"

The amount of pain I was through doubled once again. No, at this point the pain must have squared. I recalled Sugou saying that anything below three will affect my real body. With all of these swords inside of me, it's sure to do some damage to me, though I'm just not sure how much. The ones in my stomach is sure to cause some internal damage. The blades on my arms, legs, and shoulders will prevent me from moving them properly. Finally, Sugou took the other two blades. He used one to pierce through the right side of my chest, going right through my lungs. All of the wind was knocked out of me, leaving me in a state deprived of air. I could already tell my real body is going to wake up to some agonizing pain because of this. But as if that wasn't enough, he took the final blade and pierced it right through my right eye.

"Katsu-nii!" Kirito shouted.

My eye was instantly blinded and my mind felt like slush as the blade gave me a severe headache. How am I even conscious? I thought the human body is supposed to shut down if it experiences this much pain. Wait no, my heart rate hasn't slowed at all. In fact, its beating even faster, which makes no sense. If this keeps up, I won't be able to faint.

"Still haven't screamed yet?" Sugou snarled. "Very well. System command! Change pain absorber from level two to level zero!"

Everything in my body instantly began breaking down as the pain began emulating the same feeling I would feel in the real world. This pain is beyond what I comprehended it to be. I did not care if I screamed out now. In fact, I wanted to but I could no longer muster the strength to scream. The blade in my lungs prevented me from breathing. The one in my eye gave me a massive headache. One even worse than the ones the Voices usually gives me. The gravity magic is still pulling me down, and it felt like I was being crushed by a public transport bus. What exactly did I do to deserve this torment?

What am I talking about… I completely deserve this, maybe even more. This is what I deserve for inflicting pain on the loved ones of those I killed. This is what I deserve for being so weak and unable to control my wrath. I don't have any real strength outside of video games, so I should really just stop pretending like I do. There's no way I can beat Sugou now at this state. I felt my heart finally slow down, and my vision began fading. I looked at Sugou, who seemed to be done with me as he was now walking back towards Asuna. He grabbed onto Asuna's bustier and ripped it away. The piece of white fabric broke down into millions of polygonal shapes. Asuna was now half-naked, with Sugou drooling on her exposed breasts. He then moved behind her to sniff her hair, putting his arms around her arms. He began laughing evilly.

"Shall I tell you what I'm thinking right now, Asuna-chan?" Sugou spoke out loud. "I was thinking that once I'm finished with you here, I'll go to your hospital room. I'll play a recording of what we did here in this room over there in the real world. Afterwards, we will enjoy ourselves with your real body."

Asuna's expression showed complete shock and fear. The Voices finally began screaming out as my rage built up. I was so infuriated at Sugou for even thinking of doing that to Asuna, yet here I am unable to do anything. How could I lose to someone as pathetic as him? How… could I… lose…

 **(Katsumoto)**

 _I can feel the blades inside of me and the gravity which was pulling down on me. However, I could no longer feel the pain. I can remember it clearly, but my body was not experiencing any agony. The Voices were not screaming out. They were merely whispers in the distance like always. I was currently in darkness since my eyes were closed. I could see light through my eyelids, and even the scar Sugou dealt on me on my right eye. My body was cold and so I tried to curl up in a fetal position and cover myself using my cloak. However, it didn't make me any warmer._

 _"_ _So… cold…" I said, shivering._

 _With my right ear planted on the floor, I began hearing footsteps. Whoever those footsteps belong to, they are in no rush in heading towards me. After a few seconds, I felt a presence in front of me. A shadow seemed to swallow me up, and I could no longer see the scar on my right eye._

 _"_ _Are you going to open your eyes?" a man's voice called out to me. He sounded familiar, but I couldn't really place his voice. The man repeated his words, saying once again, "Are you going to open your eyes"_

 _"_ _I… I'm too scared to." I responded to him. I curled up into a ball even more, hoping for the cold to vanish._

 _"_ _What are you scared of? The pain he dealt on you? Or the fact that he seems to be insurmountable?"_

 _"_ _I-I don't know… Maybe both? The latter more than the other. I can't do anything to him. After all, I'm a player while he's a GM."_

 _"_ _You really have stooped so low, haven't you Mortifer… Those words you spoke just now made a mockery of our battle, as well as what I put you through."_

 _The cold suddenly disappeared. I stopped shivering and was now feeling a slight warmth._

 _"_ _Our battle? What you put me through?" I asked the man._

 _"_ _Do you really fear the pain he dealt to you, more than the pain you suffered through in that Cave? Did_ _The Darkness Within_ _not help you overcome you fears? And our last battle when I killed you… Your fighting spirit refused to give up and overcame the system itself, giving you the time you needed to kill me. My greatest accomplishments were all trumped by your spirit alone. So don't give me that crap about being scared of that man. It will only make you lose the great amount of respect I had for you,_ Reaper of Sorrow _…"_

 _My mind began functioning again. It started searching for the owner of this voice. I went through hundreds of different faces I saw in Sword Art Online, until I finally stopped at one of them. The face of the man responsible for putting me through so much pain in that game. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a white room. I glanced upwards and looked upon Heathcliff. No… I should say that I looked upon Kayaba Akihiko… He was looking down at me, the same way he did to Kirito after they dueled in the coliseum. I then smiled at him._

 _"_ _What the hell are you doing, looking down on me?" I interrogated him._

 _"_ _You're the one in a fetal position. Plus, you're forcing me to look down at you in order to talk to you." Kayaba replied._

 _"_ _Shut up…"_

 _I tried pushing myself off the ground, but my arms did not have the strength to do so. I then heard Kayaba sigh._

 _"_ _Fine… I'll help you… Just take my hand." Kayaba suggested. I was about to take it when he suddenly grinned._

 _"_ _I'm assuming you're going to want something in return if I accept your aid?" I grunted._

 _"_ _Yes, and unfortunately, you have no choice but to accept my aid."_

 _"_ _Just shut up and help me up…"_

 _Kayaba reached out even more and I grabbed his hand. My white world of peace and serenity faded away, as the feeling of agonizing pain returned to me._

 **(Mortifer)**

I found myself back in reality, or should I say virtual reality. The pain was still excruciating, but my resolve to defeat Sugou was at its maximum. I willed myself to ignore the pain and deal with it. I opened my left eye and saw Sugou molesting Asuna. Kirito was now chained just like Leafa. He was placed right beside Sugou and Asuna, forced to watch as he played with her body. Although I couldn't really see it, I could tell he was touching her boobs. He was also visibly licking her face. Kirito was consumed with rage and was thrashing about. Leafa was crying but then noticed that I was now awake. She smiled but I gave her a glare, telling her not to alert Sugou just yet. That's when a bunch of words suddenly appeared in my vision, with the words "username" and "password" right next to them. When I saw Heathcliff right next to "username", I knew right away what sort of help Kayaba gave me.

"System login… ID Heathcliff." I commanded the system.

My sudden shouting alerted Sugou of my revival as well as Kirito and Asuna.

"Katsu-nii!" Kirito shouted out in glee.

"Eh? Awake so quickly?" Sugou said, annoyed. "Whatever… I wanted to torment you even more anyway. And what did you say? System login? Bah, like it matters"

Sugou began approaching me as I quickly inputted the login credentials of Kayaba's account using my right index finger. Floating screens of light appeared above me, surprising Sugou and causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What the? How? What is that ID you logged in with?!" He questioned.

"System command… Enable administration privileges. Set ID Oberon to level one."

Sugou's body flashed yellow and the gravity magic suddenly disappeared, allowing me to move a lot better. The strain Asuna, Kirito and Leafa were experiencing are now gone and they all relaxed a bit more. A screen of light appeared in front of Sugou, informing him of his loss of administration rights. He is now on the same rank as any player in this game.

"An ID that outranks mine?! That's impossible!" Sugou shouted. He clutched his hair and began tearing out bits and pieces of it. He also began stomping on the ground. "I am the ruler of this world! I am its creator! I am the king of this world! It's God!"

"Not even close…" I uttered out.

Sugou turned around and looked at me. I slowly sat up, with blades still inside of me. Without even caring for the phenomenal pain it would cause me, I quickly ripped away the blades stabbed inside of me, one by one. I took out the ones on my limbs first, and then the ones stuck on my torso. I casted them all aside except for two _Holy Sword Excaliburs_. I looked at Sugou and gave him the most intense death glare I could possibly give him.

"You stole this world… And three hundred of its people… You are just a king of thieves, ruling an empty kingdom which you stole. And for that, I shall give you your own retribution."

The ambient lights of the dark room began dimming, making the room much darker than before. It was as if the system already knew what I wanted. I let out a long sigh and held the two legendary swords tightly in my hands. I slowly walked towards Sugou and let my bloodlust consume me. The system itself seemed to read my action and mood, creating a darkness around me similar to when I am using the _Surge of Darkness_ back in SAO. This time however, I have full control of my actions, and there is no way I am holding back.

"Don't take this personal Sugou… This is revenge for your foul deeds. Raping Asuna, hurting my brother, and playing with the minds of three hundred SAO players. I would leave it at that, but there's someone else I also need to get revenge for. You know him very well since he is the one who gave me this admin account as well as the one you stole the game engine from…"

Sugou's eyes opened wide with shock. His whole body trembled as he tried to speak out the name.

"K-K-Kayaba? I see… So that ID is his account… So even after you died, you're still thwarting with my plans to become powerful in this world?! Screw you for ruining my life!"

Sugou then looked at me with hopeful eyes. He had a nervous smile on his face as he held his hands out as if asking for a handshake.

"C-Come on now Mortifer-kun! Kayaba messed up your life as well, right? We can compromise if you want! I-I won't mess with Asuna anymore, how about that? I'll reimburse your family for any damages and pain I have inflicted on you guys! I'll even give you a job at RECT Progress? How about that?! I-I know you haven't gone to college yet, but I'm sure we can teach you how to do your job! I'll even give you a high starting salary, or a high position!"

"Did people ever tell you that you talk way too much?" I informed him. "Not that it matters anyway… Don't take this personal, because what I'm about to do to you is not revenge for the pain you made me suffer through. No… This is for everyone you've inflicted pain on, and I will return that pain to you in millions. So if you believe in some sort of God, you better ask him for help right now because there is no way I'm going to show you any mercy… I shall commit one more sin, and hope that this is the last… May death rain upon them…"

I rushed towards Sugou, with my swords held out. I knew that I was having an adrenaline rush because it looked to me like time was moving slow when I'm just moving too fast. My bloodlust wanted me to savor every single moment of pain Sugou is going to be suffering which is why I first began inflicting external injuries. I attacked him with my blades, cutting him all around his body about five times before he could even react. Should I cut him fifty times then start cutting into his muscle? Or should I cut one of his arms to the point where his skin is nearly gone? Oh dear, I can't choose between the two of them. Both of them sound too good. Maybe I'll just reside to cutting into his muscles after fifty. Skinning him would take too long with only two blades.

And so, after fifty strikes in places all throughout his body, I began making my attacks cut deeper into him. _Excalibur_ is so sharp and smooth that I can easily cut his muscles without slowing down my attacks. I cut away at his legs, aiming for his calf and tendon. I aimed for his arms, cutting his skin, biceps and triceps. I paused for a moment, giving Sugou a moment of relief. But I then grabbed his hand and continued to slice away at the webbing of his fingers. I split the webbings all the way to the bone where I then separating his fingers as far as I could. I then broke his fingers and tore open his hand as if it was a gift box wanting to be opened.

"Waaaaahh!" Sugou screamed in agony.

I repeated the same process with his other hand, but slowing down to make sure I get the most out of the moment. While Sugou continued to scream like a little girl, I continued to slice and dice at his body. I used the pummel of one of my blades and smashed it against his teeth, causing them to break off against the golden surface. I stopped my onslaught once again and carefully pierced Sugou's tongue, causing him great pain as well as speech problems. His screams were now merely moans. The Voices were getting more intense, causing me a headache. If I do this for too long, who knows what will happen to my mind and sanity. Although, I have already lost the grip on my humanity with the things I am doing to this guy. I might as well continue until I pass out.

I then moved to dismembering him, starting with his legs. I slashed at his knee, cutting through his bones like a hot knife through butter. I severed his leg which disappeared in an explosion of pixels. Unable to hold himself up, Oberon fell to the ground, grasping his leg. I lifted up his other leg and lacerated it continuously before I finally snapped his knee and ripped his leg out of his thigh. I noticed that his health was dropping considerable low, so I began moving faster. I took out two throwing knives and precisely threw them at his eyes. They found their marks, blinding Sugou and causing him more agony. I then created a gash on his throat, disabling his breathing. I set my foot on Sugou's torso and leaned down to meet him in his pitiful state. His health was currently in the red zone.

"I'm sorry. I wish we could play longer, but I don't think I can hold on any longer. Neither can you. Take care now, Sugou. _Sayonara_."

I picked up Sugou's body by his hair, and decapitated him completely. I then took the head which was barely alive and stabbed it right inside of his mouth. His mutilated body twitched slightly before the last of his health disappeared, killing him. His body burst into millions of polygons which faded away after a few seconds. A new Voice appeared inside of my head. It was Sugou's voice. His screams of pain earlier will now remain as an echo in my head till the day I die. I looked down to my hands, which were completely normal, yet my imagination was picturing them stained in his blood. I was tempted to lick the imaginary blood off but resisted the urge. My bloodlust hasn't been satisfied, and the Voices are becoming unbearable. My adrenaline is also running out so I feel the pain of my wounds again. I need to hurry up before I pass out due to pain…

I turned around to face Asuna and my siblings. All of them looked rather scared of me, but I can't really blame them. I had lost all humanity in my just now, all so I can inflict as much pain and suffering on Sugou as possible. I guess you could compare my actions to the _Surge of Darkness_ , except this time, all of it I had complete self-control and voluntarily committed some extremely sadistic acts. The Voices began screaming even louder and I was forced to take a knee from the pain of my wounds. My head was throbbing now. I don't have much time before I lose consciousness. I picked up an _Excalibur_ and tried standing up. My legs didn't have enough strength and I simply fell back down. How can I cut their chains if I can't even stand? Wait…

"Kirito, pull down on your chain, as hard as you can. Quick." I heaved out. He did as he was told and I prepared myself. I threw the golden blade using all my remaining might, and cut the chains, freeing Kirito. "Now quick, get over here. I need to… remove your cuffs…"

Kirito quickly ran to me and held his hands out wide. Literally using my body weight, I held _Excalibur_ behind my back and swung down while collapsing to the ground. Kirito's cuffs were separated, freeing his hands. He then crouched down to check on me.

"Katsu-nii! Are you okay?!" He asked me.

"System command…" I said, ignoring his question. "Enable administration privileges to player ID Kirito…"

My brother obtained admin privileges which will now allow him to do whatever he wants, including logging Asuna out of the game, freeing her. I would like to see him do that, but I can't stay awake for much longer. I… need to rest…

 **(Kirito)**

"Katsu-nii! Hey, Katsumoto!" I said while shaking my brother's shoulders.

My brother's head was on my lap. He seems to have lost consciousness, I don't blame him. Those Voices of his must be making him suffer greatly. Those injuries Sugou inflicted on him must have been painful as well. If I recall, Sugou said that if the pain absorber is set to levels below three, it will also inflict the real body in some way. If that really is true…

I slowly set Mortifer's head down on the ground and ran over to Asuna and Leafa. I cut their chains using my blade that I picked up, and quickly gave Asuna my coat to hide her nakedness. I then removed their cuffs with a quick swipe of my blade. Leafa ran straight to Mortifer and examined him.

"Leafa, can you please check on Katsumoto's real body?" I asked her. "Sugou said that pain levels below three will inflict damage on the person's real body. If it was set to zero, then I don't know how much pain it could possibly inflict on him."

"R-Right! I'll log out now! If I see anything really serious, I'll try to treat it right. Otherwise, I'll come back and tell you all the damage that's been done." Leafa quickly responded.

My sister hastily opened her menu with a swipe of her left hand. She searched for the log out button and exited the game. Her avatar disappeared in a bright flash of pixels. Now all that remained in the room was me, Asuna, Mortifer's sleeping body, and all the swords Sugou and Mortifer used to torture each other. Just seeing one of those blades makes me recall all that had transpired just now. Asuna seemed to be having the same problem since she looked at the blades with fear. I knew Mortifer had a point where he would snap, but I didn't know it was that scary. It reminded me of his execution as well as his battle with Heathcliff. His ferocity and viciousness were that of an animal. While part of me is saying that Sugou deserved a terrible punishment, the other part is telling me that Mortifer went way too far. Who knows what that could have done to Sugou's body, especially when the pain absorber was set to zero.

"Kirito-kun…" Asuna whispered behind me, making me jump back into reality.

I turned around to face her and embraced her in a hug. We both fell to our knees, right next to Mortifer's sleeping body, and continued our embrace for a few more moments. I looked at Asuna's face and felt a huge wave of relief wash over me, causing me to begin crying tears of joy. Asuna pulled me close to her and I began crying on her shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry we took so long…" I apologized to her.

"No…" she said, shaking her head. "I believed in you. No, I still believe in you. I always have and always will. And after what happened to Mortifer in SAO, I too believe in him now. Just like how his guild believes in him. I believe that you guys are my heroes, and that you'll always come to save me when I need your help."

"T-That isn't t-true…" I sobbed out. "Mortifer is the only hero. I don't have any power at all, and had to rely on him to do everything. He went through so much pain and suffering all because I asked him for help… If only I was stronger, I could…"

Asuna silenced me with her hand. I looked at her and noticed tears in her eyes. She then gave me a warm smile.

"That's not true Kirito. You are strong. I know that. Your brother knows that as well, more than anybody. After all, you are the biological brother of the strongest person I've ever met. For you to be as weak as you think you are, that's not right…"

"Putting it like that, it kind of hurts since you're saying that I'm only strong _because_ I'm related to Mortifer." I laughed out. "But… I'll do my best to be strong then."

"Please do." Asuna smiled.

"Now… Let's get you logged out." I told her. I began moving my hands to fiddle with the menu but she stopped me.

"Wait… I want to know of Mortifer's condition before we go." Asuna requested.

"We will wait for my sister then. Unless Katsu-nii did get some serious injuries, she should be back by now." I told her.

As if it were a coincidence, Leafa appeared in a flash of white in front of us. She opened her eyes and blinked twice, getting used to the lighting. She looked at us and ran over to Mortifer's body.

"Suguha, what's Katsumoto's condition?" I asked her.

"He's bruised slightly in some places in his body and has a few cuts which I covered up with bandages. I didn't really see any other injuries or signs of internal bleeding. We're going to have to get him checked up to the hospital to make sure. But, there is one big thing…"

Leafa's voice failed. She looked at Mortifer and made a nervous expression. She held her stomach as if her insides were churning from the thought she was having in her mind.

"Sugu, what happened to Mortifer?" I demanded.

"His… His eye…"

"What about it?"

"When I entered the room, his face and NerveGear was painted with blood. I was afraid to take off the NerveGear since I was still scared of accidentally killing him. That's how many players died at the start of Sword Art Online after all… Anyways, his right eye was bleeding profusely, I put a piece cloth on his eye and weighed it down with a bag of ice. When the ice melts, it should dampen the cloth a little bit and clean the wound somewhat. I couldn't tell if it was just the area around his eye or the eye itself that was bleeding. Should I just call for an ambulance? I've already prepared to treat him later, but I was just wondering…"

"I would say yes, but Katsumoto doesn't like going to hospitals to get treated. After what happened to him in that car accident, he's refused to go to a hospital for proper treatment and says to let nature have its way with his body. He also said something about hurting his pride if he shows weakness like that. If it is indeed an injury directly on his eye, then he has no choice but to let us."

"Talk about stubborn…" Asuna laughed out.

"Yeah… He really is." I said, smiling a bit.

"So, should we just stay here and wait for him to wake up?" Leafa asked me.

"That's the only thing we can do right now. Do you want to log out now Asuna, or wait for my brother to get back up?"

"I'll wait a bit longer. I want to thank Mortifer for saving me." Asuna stated.

"You don't need to…" A weak voice spoke from below me.

I looked down and saw my brother as he slowly opened his eyes. We all smiled as we looked down on him, happy that he woke up. He tried sitting up but immediately winced from the pain. That's when I realized that the pain absorber was still at zero.

"System command! Change pain absorber from level zero to level ten." I commanded.

The meter appeared in front of me, showing the bar rise up to full. When it did, Mortifer let out long sigh of relief. He slowly sat up and put his hand on his face. He stayed silent for a few moments, before breaking down and crying. Leafa got behind Mortifer and wrapped her arms around his neck, comforting him. I retrieved his swords and gave it to him. He held his blades tightly with one hand, hugging them close to his chest. He remained like this for a minute before finally calming down.

"I want you to be completely honest with me…" Mortifer began. "Did you think I took that way too far?"

Mortifer's question caught us off-guard. While we all wanted to take revenge on Sugou, I'm confident that none of us would have tortured him to that extent. The mental damage Mortifer inflicted on him is likely to be very high. After all, Mortifer looked like a sadistic serial killer throughout the entire torture session.

"Yeah… It somewhat pains me to say it, but you took it way too far with Sugou." I told him.

"That's what I thought…" Mortifer sighed out. "Anyways, how long was I out?"

"Ten or so minutes. Sugu checked on your real body for injuries. She said your eye is pretty bad right now. You may need to go to the hospital."

"Ugh… I think I'll pass." Mortifer loathed. He let himself fall to the ground and spread his arms open wide. "So Asuna… You want us to log you out of here anytime soon? Or do you still want to stay here for a bit longer. You said earlier that you wanted to thank me before logging out. While you didn't actually do it, you have nothing else to do here."

"Well, I guess you are sort of right. Okay then, log me out." Asuna asked us.

"Kazuto, you do the honors. Afterwards, you should log out right away and go meet up with Asuna in the hospital. Sugu, you can do whatever you want. I'm going to stay here for a bit. I want to rest and check up on what happened to Yui. I'm pretty sure she is completely fine, so don't worry too much. If not, I'll find a way."

I opened up my menu and went through the dozens of options inside of it. Almost all of the things in this admin menu are things meant for game developing which means that a normal person wouldn't understand it. But since my foster mom works as a video game developer and has taught both me a few things, not all of it was gibberish. I scrolled through the menu for a few seconds before finally finding the log out option. I searched for Asuna's name and forcefully logged her out. Her avatar began glowing brightly as it slowly faded away. Before she disappeared completely, she smiled and embraced me tightly. She completely disappeared a moment later. I watched as the particles that Asuna's avatar dissolved into fly upwards until it was no longer visible. I then let out a long sigh.

"It's finally over, huh Katsu-nii?" I asked him.

"I hope so, cause I'm not in any condition to do anymore fighting, nor do I feel like it." He responded. "Now go on and meet up with Asuna in the hospital. You shouldn't keep her waiting. I'll meet up with you there once Oka-san is home. That way, I can take the car over there."

"Are you sure? You may have some serious injuries once you log out of the game, and you're practically blind in one eye according to Suguha. Will you even be able to see properly in the darkness of the night?" I questioned him.

"Who knows? If I get in a car crash, then so be it. But I assure you that I won't be the one who is crashing onto someone else."

"Whatever then. See ya' later then Katsu-nii."

I opened my menu and hastily logged out of the game, eager to get to Asuna as soon as possible.

 **(Mortifer)**

The moment Kirito disappeared, I stopped holding back. The pain of the wounds done on my real body is reaching me here, and it is not fun. I groaned loudly and put a hand over my eye. Internal damage is certain and blindness is a given. However, the levels of these conditions are still unbeknownst to me. I panted heavily as waves of pain continued to wash over me. Holding it back took a huge toll on me and I am now unable to do so. Leafa sat down next to me, visibly expressing her sympathy for me.

"I'm surprised you held that back for so long." She began speaking.

"Ah… So, you know how severe my injuries are then?" I panted out.

"I've already called an ambulance to come by our house. If I told Kazuto-nii that one was coming, then he would never go back to Asuna until you're fully treated, no matter how much you told him to do so."

"Thanks for that, and you're right, he would never go to Asuna. There's no way I have minor injuries with this pain I'm feeling. I'm glad Kirito reset the pain absorber, or else I would still be in agonizing pain. So then, tell me what's wrong with my body."

"Your arms and legs were bleeding pretty heavily, but that was only due to the numerous number of places you were stabbed in. I've patched up all the bleeding wounds so you should be fine there. Your chest isn't really showing any signs of internal bleeding but I could be wrong. You may have broken or fractured ribs due to the blades cutting through it as well as the gravity that was acting upon you. The worst part is your stomach. It wasn't bleeding that much on the outside, but there are cuts that have slightly healed already due to your abnormal healing and metabolism. Internal bleeding is certain, meaning surgery is required to heal you properly. The injuries you sustained here are far worse than what you received in the car accident back then."

"No doubt about it… At least then it was only after I got surgery since I was knocked out the moment I got hit. Here however, I was conscious during the torturing. And while I'm going to be asleep during the surgery, the pain I will feel afterwards remains... I wonder if I can still do normal things again after this."

"Let's just hope that you can." Leafa sighed out. She then stood up and stretched her arms. "I'm going to go and log out now and treat your body a bit more before you are taken to the hospital. If you are still inside the game when they arrive, I'll tell them to keep your helmet on just in case. Good bye now Katsu-nii."

"See you later Suguha."

My sister opened her menu and disappeared in a bright flash of pixels. I was now all alone in the room. Lied down and stared at whatever was in front of me. Was there a ceiling to this dark room, or is it just empty space? I can't tell since everything was pitch black, even the floor. The lack of color bothered me and so I looked down towards my body instead. I was almost given a heart attack when I saw someone standing near me. He had a very familiar face and wore a long white lab coat. His black pants and black shoes only added in to the scientist vibe. However, upon recognizing his face, I knew that he was no scientist, but a game developer instead.

"Having fun there, Mortifer-kun?" Kayaba spoke to me.

"Eh, not really. But I'm better off than you are right now. I think…" I responded to him. "You're not alive, aren't you?"

"You could say I am alive, or you could say that I am not. It depends on how you define the word Life. I am an echo of the mind that was Kayaba Akihiko. An afterimage of it uploaded to the Internet."

"So… you scanned your brain into the Internet?" I questioned him.

"Precisely."

"Don't really know how you did that but whatever. You do the craziest things anyway, like making virtual reality. Well, I guess I need to thank you for helping me out."

"There is no need to thank me." He responded. I raised my brows in curiosity. "I do not mean to spoil anything, but I have already prepared a gift for you to receive. Because of that, helping you now requires a payment, or rather a favor."

"If it has to deal with caves, fears, darkness or more pain and misery, then count me out. Otherwise, go ahead and hit me with it."

Kayab stared blankly at me for a second, before looking upwards. A bright golden light glowed above us and slowly floated down before it was at eyelevel with Kayaba. There was a weird object in the center which also seems to be the cause of the golden light. It was an egg-shaped translucent object with other glowing colored lights inside of it as well as a white core. Around the core were three rings that spun in place. The egg then floated down and rested itself on my chest. It was extremely light, yet had a solid texture like glass. Even though I wasn't holding it, it stood perfectly still on its rounded bottom.

"So… What's this?" I asked him.

"The beginning of a world… The Seed." Kayaba responded. "Once it sprouts into a sapling, you will understand what it is. When that happens, whatever you do with it is up to you. You can let it blossom into what it is, or delete and forget about it. However, if you have any feelings left for that world beside hatred, then I suggest you keep it…"

I looked at Kayaba and The Seed in wonder. This thing is the beginning of a world? And what does he mean about feelings for _that_ world? Wait a minute…

"Heathcliff… Is this thing, what I think it is?" I questioned him.

"I don't read minds, so I cannot answer that. Even if I could, I wouldn't answer it. I'll be going then." Kayaba stated. His ethereal body began floating off. "I hope we meet again Mortifer-kun. No… Kirigaya Katsumoto-kun. But as of now, this is good bye."

Kayaba Akihiko's body disappeared in a brilliant flash of light which covered the entire room. I was completely blinded for several seconds before the light died down. When I opened my eyes, I found myself back inside the birdcage, lying down on the bed. The sun was still up somehow, but I wasn't arguing since it made the sky glow with brilliant colors of yellow and red. The Seed disappeared from its resting place on my chest. If it is a digital thing meant for me, Kayaba must have saved it inside of my NerveGear's local files. Yes, that's the only explanation. I lied there for a while before I saw some weird wormhole appear above me. My eyes opened wide with surprise as a little girl suddenly fell out of the portal and landed right on top of me, knocking the wind out of my avatar.

"I'm sorry Oji-chan!" A familiar voice cried out. I looked at the girl's face and determined it to be Yui.

"No… it's fine." I groaned. "I'm glad you're safe. How did you get away?"

"I took shelter inside Papa's NerveGear. Since the system can't delete or access the local memory of a player's own device without permission, I was able to avoid being completely deleted. It took me some time to come back since I had to redownload my files into the game. Where's Mama and Papa?"

"Asuna is back in the real world. My brother left to go see her in the hospital."

"Really?!" Yui beamed. "I'm glad! I'm so glad! I really am…"

"We'll be back to see you soon. But what will you do if this world gets deleted?"

"Well as I said, my core program is inside Papa's NerveGear, so I won't be deleted along with it. I can also download my files to your NerveGear so all of us can be together forever!"

"Well, that's nice to know then." I said. I looked over to the setting sun and remembered my current condition. "I'm going to need to go now Yui. My body is currently very injured. An ambulance will be arriving at my home soon. It will be easier to treat me if I am not logged into the game."

"I understand Oji-chan." Yui smiled. "I hope you recover quickly so we can see each other again. I love you!"

"I love you too Yui…" I told her. I sat up and pulled her into a hug.

I opened my menu and searched through the dozens of components inside of it. I then found my way to the log out button and disappeared from ALfheim.

 **(Katsumoto)**

The moment I logged out, the pain increased a tenfold. I was having trouble breathing and my stomach ached badly. I wasn't in my bed anymore. In fact, I was already being carried away to the ambulance. I was forced to close my right eye due to the blood and could only see through my left.

"Katsu-nii! You're awake!" Suguha cried out gleefully.

"Quick, remove his NerveGear! Do it carefully though!" a doctor's voice commanded.

The medics removed my bloodstained NerveGear and began treating my eye right away. I held back the urge to cry out in pain since it hurt like hell. I then felt a quick shot in my arm. The pain subsided a bit and gave me another sensation. It wasn't painful, but rather pleasurable. It made me feel relaxed and a bit euphoric. Was that morphine just now? Well whatever, I needed it anyway. The pain was too much, and now I feel a lot better. I then found myself drifting away into a deep sleep. Before that happened however, I managed to hear one last thing from the medics.

"Full speed to Tokorozawa General! We need to get him to the ER for surgery, right now!"

Tokorozawa… That's… Asuna's hospital…


	11. Chapter 10: The World Seed

**(Kazuto)**

 **The next day, 7AM**

I jolted awake due to the sounds of banging and shouting. I was sitting on a wooden chair, right next to Asuna's bed. She was seated closer to the side of the bed so we could be closer together and hold hands while we slept. She too woke up from all of the ruckus and slowly raised her hands up to rub her eyes. Due to her two-year comatose, her body is weak and frail. Her rehab will have to go on much longer than it did for myself and Katsumoto. Anyways, I stood up from the chair and observed the door where all the noise was coming from. Not a second later, the door opened, and Asuna's entire family came barging in. I fully woke up from their entrance and quickly tidied myself to look presentable. They however ignored this and instead went straight to Asuna.

"Asuna!" the boy who I am assuming is her brother cried out with tears in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Thank you Kirigaya-kun for informing us about Asuna's return." Asuna's father, Yuuki Shouzou, thanked me. "We are grateful to you for caring about our daughter that much."

"D-Don't mention it." I said, smiling back nervously.

A lady came into the room a little bit later than them. She was fully dressed in formal clothing and looked as if she just got here from work, or was on her way there. That must be Asuna's mother. This is the first time I have seen her. She slowly walked to Asuna with a smile, but something was off about her. Her smile was faked. I could tell it from her eyes. Was she not happy her daughter is back? Or is it something else? I want to know but her appearance does not make me want to approach her. After all, Asuna came from a rather rich family with high standards, and I don't think I am up to their standards at all. Either way, I'm glad they have all reunited as a family.

"Onii-chan!" A voice called out from the door.

Asuna's mother and I turned to face the door. I saw Suguha standing in the hallway, peering through the door. This surprised me since I had no clue that she was in the hospital. In fact, how did she even get here? Also, I thought Katsumoto was heading over to the hospital to meet up with us last night. It seems like he never came by, or he just didn't bother waking us up.

"Sugu? What are you doing here? Also, how is Katsumoto doing?" I asked her.

"T-That's why I'm here…" Suguha said grimly. My good mood faded as I began sensing something grave. "Please get to the ICU wing as soon as possible! Room N7!"

Without even saying another word, Suguha took off from our room. Her footsteps echoed in the hallway before stopping. I could then hear the sound of the elevator opening then closing. I then looked back to Asuna and her family. Her mom stared at me blankly as if observing me.

"Whoever that girl was, it seems she has some urgent news for you in the ICU." She told me.

"What about the ICU?" Asuna asked her. We all turned to face her. She looked at her mom then alternated to me. "Is something wrong?"

"I uh… I need to go to the intensive care unit… Apparently Katsumoto is there…"

"I thought he was fine. What happened?"

"He may have lied, but I don't really know. I'm going to go now. I'll come back to see you whenever I can. Bye Asuna!"

I was already sprinting out of the room by the time she finished saying her goodbye. I ran down the hallway to the elevator and quickly pushed to button to go down. I put my hands against the wall and looked down towards the ground. Did you really lie to me Katsu-nii? Wait no, it was Suguha who told me about his injuries. Why did she lie to me? She shouldn't have lied if it was something this serious. No wait… Maybe it's because Katsumoto got a proper checkup now and was sent to the ICU due to his injuries. Well whichever one it is, I need to hurry up and get to him. He probably wants to see me right now.

 **A few minutes later**

I arrived in the hallway where patients in the ICU are located. I went down the hallway before I reached the N section. I looked at the door numbers until I reached N7. I peeked inside and saw both my aunt and Suguha. Sugu was pacing around while our aunt sat down and rested her head against the wall. Her eyes were bloodshot so it seems that she didn't get much sleep with the sudden hospitalization of Katsumoto. I slowly opened the door, causing Sugu to turn around to look at me. She grimaced then nodded her head over to the hospital bed.

Katsumoto lying down on his bed, asleep. Even though he seems to have gone through so much pain, he appeared to be sleeping serenely. He was wired up to a whole bunch of medical equipment. His right eye was covered with an eye patch, but I could still see the scar created by the blade that pierced him there. A ventilator pumped oxygen into his lungs through a tube going inside his nose. His arms and legs were bandaged up completely. Right next to his bedside was a wooden nightstand. A large bento box sat on top of it, with its contents steaming as if newly cooked. I looked at Suguha who seemed to be sweating. Did she go home to cook that bento, or is she sweating because she ran from Asuna's room to Katsumoto's? Either way, it seems Katsumoto is well enough to not be fed through a tube.

"Sugu, what's his diagnosis?" I asked her.

"Fractured ribs, broken diaphragm, severe internal hemorrhage in the abdomen, and multiple grievous lacerations on the arms and legs which caused them to swell all over the place. His right eye itself is untouched but a bit blinded as if hit by a blunt object. He popped a couple of blood vessels in his eye so it was super red when I saw him earlier. Most of the blood on his helmet last night was due to the area around his eyes being heavily wounded. His right eye won't be the same after this. Other than that, he's doing fine. He's recovered well and been given pain relievers. The doctors said that his pain tolerance is absurdly high since he should have passed out when he was tortured in ALO."

"Wait, you told them what happened?"

"I had to since it would help them figure out all of his injuries. Police also interrogated me about the ALO situation and I told them everything. They are currently investigating Sugou to find out the truth. We will probably have to go to court or something unless someone on Sugou's side confesses the crime."

"Sugou works for the company owned by Asuna's father. If Asuna is on our side, then we should be able to win. However, I'm more worried of what's going through Katsumoto's mind right now as he's going through all of this."

"Oh, that reminds me."

Sugu went over to retrieve her bag from her mother's side. She held it out for me to retrieve. I took her bag and opened it. Katsumoto's NerveGear was inside of it. It was still stained with blood but otherwise looked fine.

"Katsu-nii told me to give you his NerveGear. Apparently, there is something inside the local memory he wants you to check up on. He said he would've done it himself but due to his current state, he can't go anywhere for at least a month. He also mentioned something about asking Agil for help."

"Agil? Hmm…"

I took the NerveGear out of the bag and observed it. I noticed that it was still on, so I went ahead and turned it off to save its battery. I then continued to look at my brother who was sleeping now.

"Katsu-nii's final surgery finished an hour ago. The doctors said that he will be sleeping for a while. He also told me to tell you that he has nothing to say to you, though I'm not sure what he means by that."

"He's telling me to not wait for him to recover and do other things. He probably wants me to stay with Asuna right now or head over to Agil and get his NerveGear investigated. By the way, did you manage to contact Violet?"

"No, I couldn't. I forgot to tell Oka-san to bring Katsu-nii's phone. I don't have her number and Oka-san is very tired right now. I'm letting her rest here along with Katsu-nii."

"That's fine. I'll go contact her now, though I doubt this conversation of ours will go smoothly. After that, I'll be heading to Agil's café to get this NerveGear checked up."

"Go ahead. I'll be staying here with Oka-san until we decide to leave. Fortunately, I don't have classes tomorrow."

"You want me to get you something while I'm over in Okachimachi?"

"Maybe a mocha latte from the café and a snack? Yeah, that'll be great."

"Alright, I'm going then. See you later Sugu."

"Good bye Onii-chan."

I exited Katsumoto's room, bringing the bag and NerveGear with me. I pulled out my phone and began making my way towards the front of the hospital. I passed by ten rooms before I turned right and entered the main lobby. I began calling Violet while I exited the hospital wing. A winter breeze blew against my face, causing me to shiver a bit. A small sheet of snow covered the ground around the area. It was snowing a bit last night and ended soon after. Even now, the snow was already beginning to melt. After waiting for a couple more seconds, someone finally picked up.

"Kirito-kun, what's up?" I heard Violet's voice speak from the phone.

"Hey Violet, I uh… I need to tell you something. It's very important so if you're doing other stuff right now, then I can tell you later."

"I'm free right now, so go ahead and tell me."

"It… It has to deal with Katsumoto."

"Mortifer? What happened." The happiness and enthusiasm in Violet's voice disappeared.

"It's difficult to explain completely, but we went to go save Asuna who was still in a coma. We got her back but Katsu-nii suffered grave injuries. He's currently in the hospital right now, in the ICU. He had surgery to fix internal damage and is currently asleep. It's hard to determine how long it will take for him to recover completely."

"W-When did this happen?!" Violet screamed through the phone, causing me to move my ear away from it. "How did this happen? Where was Asuna to cause such serious injuries to Mortifer?"

"That's the harder part of the explanation… As for when it happened, it occurred last night. He's been in the hospital for a while now though I'm not exactly sure how long. He seems to be recovering just fine but it's still too soon to say."

"Well I'm grateful that you told me. When Mortifer wakes up, can you call me so I can talk to him?"

"Of course. But right now, I need to run an errand my brother tasked me to do before he went to sleep. I'll text my sister to contact you when he wakes up. She'll be waiting in the hospital along with our mother."

"Okay then. Thank you, Kirito. Also, did you get Asuna back? Mortifer had already told me about her situation. Since you said you went to rescue her, I was wondering if you guys succeeded."

"Yeah, we did, all thanks to my brother. It would have been impossible without him. I know this may seem obvious, but you made a good choice Violet. Picking him over every other guy I mean." I joked with her.

"Ha-ha…" Violet laughed out. "Yeah, I guess I did make a good choice. Though things like these makes me a bit worried about my life decisions."

"Everyone has those moments. Well, I'll be going then. See you Violet."

"Good bye, Kirito-kun."

I hung up the call and began texting Suguha Violet's number. When the message was sent, I put my phone back in my pocket and headed out towards the parking lot. I found the bike rack that I left my bicycle next to. I took off the chain lock I set on it and stuffed it inside the bag. I then threw my bag over my back and peddled my way back home where I would then leave my bike and take the train to the Dicey Café.

 **(Katsumoto)**

 **An hour later**

I felt utterly terrible. I couldn't move properly. If I sat up, my stomach experiences an excruciating pain due to the surgery I just had. Due to my rib fractures, I can't breathe properly. While it is bad for me to solely focus on taking shallow breaths, I also can't breathe in deeply or else I will suffer through some pain. My right eye was also hurting but it was more of an annoyance than anything. Being able to see through only one eye sucks. My arms and legs have it easy since all they got were a bunch of cuts. It hurts to move them but it's tolerable compared to everything else. In fact, I think my pain tolerance went up due to the torture I went through. Now that I think about it, how is Sugou doing? I'm confident I did more damage to him than he did to me, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he is on the verge of dying or even fully dead. It would be nice if he did die, but I don't really care anymore. I'm in too much pain to think about it any longer.

I opened my left eye and looked around me. I was no longer in the ER. It seems I am in my own private room. One look at the amount of equipment hooked up to me told me instantly that I was currently under intensive care. I carefully let out a long sigh and recovered my breath, causing me a brief moment of pain. The sigh was loud enough for Suguha to hear. She was sitting down, staring blankly at her phone before she stood up and ran over to me.

"Katsu-nii! Are you okay?"

"I felt better before I got surgery…" I spoke quietly, unable to raise my voice to a normal level. "How long was I out?"

"It's been six hours since you were last conscious. Kazuto-nii left an hour ago to get your NerveGear investigated with Agil."

"Good… Good… I'm hungry. I haven't eaten anything since last night. I'm sure the doctors are happy about that since they wouldn't have to worry about an aspiration. Anyways, do you have any food?"

Suguha walked over to something next to me and picked up a familiar looking bento box. It's one of the ones we have at our home. Did she bring homemade food for me to eat? I should thank her for being so kind. I've been hospitalized here before, and the hospital food isn't exactly appealing to the tongue.

She pulled up a chair and sat down next to me where she could easily spoon feed me. She opened the bento box, revealing food that seemed newly cooked since it was still warm. A translucent plastic layer was placed on top of the food to keep it locked in place and insulted. I could see a bowl of soup and rice under the plastic layer, and none of it seems to be spilled. Sugu removed the plastic layer, releasing the aromatic smells of the food. I fought back the urge to lick my lips.

"So, what's on the menu Suguha-sama?" I joked with her.

"For the appetizer, you have a bowl of miso soup, made the way you like it." Suguha responded, playing along. "For the main dish, we have your favorite spicy beef curry served with steamed white rice. The spiciness and abundance in calories should help your body get the nutrients it needs to heal faster and fight off any infections you may or may not obtain. And once you're done with everything, I got you some spicy dragon rolls, also your favorite. If you're still hungry after that, then I'll go buy takoyaki in the supermarket. Hopefully it doesn't get to that point. I worked hard to make the miso and curry for you, so you better finish all of it."

"Don't worry, I'll finish it. I think I'll be able to eat by myself, so you can go on ahead and get the takoyaki now." I told her.

"Oh really? You can eat by yourself?" Suguha questioned me. Her facial expression showed that she wasn't buying it. "Go ahead and sit up then."

I paused and looked at her. I hesitated to sit up since I already knew I couldn't do it without struggling greatly. I sighed in defeat and Suguha held an evil grin of victory on her face. She set the box aside and helped me sit up straight. It caused me some pain but I could bear with it. She retrieved the bento box and sat back down the chair. She took the bowl of miso and rested it on her lap. She then got a large, black, plastic ladle and began to slowly scoop out a spoonful of miso. She blew on the steaming soup, cooling it down for me. She then moved the spoon close to my mouth where I could start eating the miso. The strength of the stock was indeed how I liked it.

"Don't get greedy and ask for takoyaki when you can't even finish what I made you." Suguha told me, slightly annoyed.

"Yes mother…" I sarcastically responded. "You know, you would make a great wife Sugu. Not that I'm thinking of marrying you or anything."

Suguha stopped feeding me momentarily. She looked at me in the eyes, smiling and blushing slightly. She then picked up the ladle once again and continued to feed me. After a few minutes of being spoon fed the miso, Suguha took the entire bento box and began spoon feeding me the rice with curry. The moment it entered my mouth, pleasant sensations surged through my body. I closed my eyes and savored the taste. It was very spicy, but I liked it that way. My face was getting dirt from the curry, so Suguha took a napkin and wiped away the food stains. Sugu also seemed to be hungry, as she took out another spoon to scoop up some of the rice and curry. She fed herself then went back to feeding me. While we both chewed our food, Suguha took out her phone and began dialing in a number. She held the phone in between her right shoulder and cheek. The phone rang while she continued to feed me. About ten seconds later, someone picked up the call.

"Hello? Who is this?" A very familiar voice spoke. I stopped my chewing due to my surprise of hearing the voice. Whose voice is that?

"This is Kirigaya Suguha. Kirito-kun's sister. Is the person speaking Violet-san?" Suguha responded. My eyes widened at the sudden realization. Yes, that was Violet's voice.

"Yes, this is she. Is Mortifer awake?"

"Yup. Here, you can talk to him."

Suguha took her phone with her left hand, and held it up against my right ear. While she did this, she continued to indulge on her own spicy beef curry which was supposed to be for me. She took a bite and smiled in glee, savoring the taste and happy about her cooking. Meanwhile, I grew anxious of what was to come.

"V-Violet?" I whispered into the phone.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Violet screamed through the phone, scaring Suguha into dropping her own phone. Luckily it landed on my bed so she easily picked it up and put it back in place. "Kirito-kun told me that you're in the ICU recovering from severe injuries and surgery! How could you let that happen to you?!"

"Hey, hey, hey! It's not like I wanted it to happen." I told her. "I couldn't do anything about it until after I got injured. I'm not exactly the invincible person you saw in SAO you know. I'm still human, or as human as I can be at least… On the bright side, we got Asuna back. I think it was all worth it."

"I know Asuna very well Mortifer, and I'm pretty sure that even she did not you to go through such lengths to save her. You take things too seriously and go to such extreme lengths to accomplish your goals."

"I totally agree!" Suguha shouted out with food in her mouth.

"You need to tone it down a bit, or else something bad will happen again. You know I don't want to lose you."

"Yes, I know that." I told her.

"Then start acting like you know! If your family didn't get you to the hospital that quickly, then you would be in grave danger now!"

"Well, I still sort of am-"

"That's not the point Mortifer!" Violet yelled. My ear is starting to hurt now. "Talking to you about being more careful is clearly not working..."

"Don't worry Violet-san. I'll make sure Katsu-nii doesn't do any more harm to his body!" Suguha gleefully told her through the phone. "Well, I can only do that when he is restricted like this. Otherwise, you're going to have to find someone else."

"Hahaha." Violet laughed through the phone. "Thank you, Suguha-chan. I'm counting on you then. Well, I'll talk to you some other time Mortifer. My parents are asking for me and I also need to continue my rehab. Be safe now. Love you."

"Love you too Violet."

Violet hung up the phone on her side and Suguha put her own phone on top of the nightstand beside me. She took my spoon and scooped up more rice. She then continued to feed me.

"You guys are such a cute couple." Suguha teased me. "Bickering on the phone about how much you care for each other. When will you propose to her?"

"W-What? Propose?" I said bewildered. "I haven't even met her and her family in real life, so there's no way I would propose yet."

"Oh, but Kazuto-nii said you guys got married in-game. I'm assuming you are the one who proposed to her."

"K-Kazuto told you that?" I asked, my eye twitching slightly in annoyance. I was about to tell her about Kazuto marrying Asuna in-game but I remembered what had happened yesterday afternoon, and how we unintentionally hurt Suguha's feelings. "Okay fine, you beat me. Now keep feeding me. I'm still starving."

"Okay, okay."

 **(Kazuto)**

 **Tokyo Prefecture, Okachimachi,** **Dicey Café**

I walked down the empty street, carrying the backpack containing Katsumoto's NerveGear. I was lucky enough to get to the transit station on time and take the train as it was leaving. This would be the second time this week that I've arrived at the station just in time. Anyways, I continued down the street which looks more like an alleyway. Finally, I reached the front of the Dicey Café and slowly opened the door. Light leaked into the poorly lit bar and I walked inside.

Andrew was standing behind the counter as usual, cleaning dirty glassware and tidying up the place. When he looked over to me, his eyes widened and a smile grew on his face.

"Yo, Kirito!" Andrew greeted me. "How's the search for Asuna going along? Did you find out if she really was inside ALfheim Online?"

"Yeah, she was. In fact, we saved her last night. She's woken up and has reunited with her family." I told him.

"Really? That was fast, not that I'm complaining. I'm glad you got her back. We can all finally be together again." Andrew smiled. He then moved his body and head, as if trying to look behind me. "Is Katsumoto here with you?"

"He's… In the hospital…" I grimly stated.

"Seriously? How come?" Andrew questioned, his gleeful mood vanishing quickly.

"Asuna was being kept prisoner by a man in ALO. Katsu-nii was tortured by that very man. The pain absorber which prevents us from feeling pain was completely removed during his torment. Because of that, his real body was affected in some degree. He's currently in the ICU wing at Tokorozawa."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. He must be going through a lot right now. So, why are you here if your brother is in the hospital?"

"I'm running an errand for him. He wants me to analyze his NerveGear and he said that I should get your help with it. Apparently, there is something inside the local memory banks of his helmet."

"Really now? Well let's go take a look then." Andrew said, motioning for me to follow him.

He got out from behind the counter and started heading for the back room. I followed closely behind him, looking at all of the storage boxes he has lying around. Beer, wine, liquor, snacks. Everything you could ask for in a place that is a café in the day, and a bar in the night. We then entered his office, where Andrew's computer sat silently on a large wooden table. Near the table was a makeshift bed, just big enough for Andrew to sleep comfortable on. An AmuSphere lied on top of the bed, still connected to the café's ethernet.

"You're making this place into some sort of FullDive Café, right?" I asked him.

"Yup. With the AmuSphere being quite successful and virtual reality games being extremely popular, this place would profit if we allow players to FullDive should they want to."

"Speaking of virtual reality games, we learned of a terrible thing that was happening inside ALO. If they confirm it, ALO will most likely be shut down and the company would be sued. VRMMORPGs will take another huge blow on its reputation should that happen."

"Yeah, hopefully… Anyways, let me see his NerveGear."

I took off the bag and opened it up, revealing Katsumoto's bloodstained NerveGear. Andre gingerly took it in his hands and set it on his desk. He connected the NerveGear to his computer via the USB port and we waited for it to process.

"Just what kind of injury did Mortifer get to stain his helmet in so much blood?" Andrew asked.

"In the game, Katsu-nii was stabbed in the right eye. Fortunately, his eye was left unharmed and he can see fine with it. The damage done to his eye happened to the area around it. His eyelids were cut up and bleeding. He has a pretty nasty scar on his eye, just like Rizer."

"I am wishing I had seen what exactly happened, but I would probably regret it afterwards."

"If you think my brother seems to have it rough, you should see the guy who tortured him and kept Asuna prisoner. Just thinking about it makes me shudder."

Andrew's computer beeped and we both went to check on what exactly is inside the NerveGear. Andrew browsed through his directory and accessed the NerveGear's files. What I saw was quite underwhelming since there was only a single folder called The World Seed. Andrew opened up the folder and that's when I realized just how much help I needed in order to figure out exactly what it is. There were nearly a hundred different things inside the folder, each having at least two to three terabytes of memory contained inside of it. One certain file caught my eye. It was a single text file also called The World Seed. Andrew opened the text and we began reading it.

 _Hello. To whomever is reading this right now, what you see before you is a program package that I, Kayaba Akihiko, created. I call this package,_ _The Seed_ _, the beginning of worlds. These programs, when executed, will run a full-dive MMO world. In layman's terms,_ _The Seed_ _will give anybody with a good enough server the ability to create their own online world like Sword Art Online. Any virtual world created with this same package is linked to every other one, creating one large interconnected network, allowing for character data transfer should the user decide to do so. If you do not wish for a thing such as this to exist anymore, then you are free to destroy it. It is all up to you to decide the fate of_ _The Seed_ _._

The message abruptly ended there. Andrew and I were in disbelief at what we read. How exactly did Katsumoto get this package from Kayaba Akihiko? I thought he had died back when SAO ended when he scanned his brain into the internet. No, wait… If he had succeeded in doing so, then it would explain how Katsu-nii managed to get this, as well as Heathcliff's account back when he saved us from Sugou. Yes, that's the only explanation. Even so, this Seed package, does it really help you create an entirely new world?

"Kirito… Do you believe what the message stated?" Andrew asked me.

"I-I don't know…" I stated. "The amount of data inside this folder is absurd. I'm surprised that the NerveGear could even fit this much data inside its local memory. The only way to test it out is to actually run it. But the question is, how?"

"I have connections to people who work on virtual reality games. In fact, I have a friend who was a former employee in Argus. He can probably help us with this. But Kirito, do you really think virtual reality should still exist?"

I hesitated to answer the question because I was still a bit unsure. I remembered the events of Sword Art Online, and how much suffering people endured in that game. I saw people die in front of my eyes all because Kayaba trapped us inside of the game. And Katsumoto… Because of that world, he became what he is now. While part of the change was good, he still has a darkness inside of him that he can't get rid of. Even in ALO, Sugou almost achieved his goal of controlling the human mind. If someone were to attempt that again and succeed, it will only bring chaos about the world. Even so…

In that world, I was able to see things I couldn't see, and do things I couldn't do. Adventuring around a world other than your own. A world filled with nature, animals, monsters and other people. No tall skyscrapers and grey polluted skies, no… I met my friends there. Klein, Agil, Silica, Liz, and Asuna… I was able to meet her because of the virtual world. The same thing could be said for my brother as well. He met Violet, and Rizer, and the rest of his guild. They too seemingly enjoyed life in the game, and lived in that world while they could. The thought of creating your own perfect world to live in…

"I do Agil… I do want virtual reality to keep going. Many others would agree. If we upload this to the internet, then the ability to enjoy another world is within anybody's reach."

Andrew looked at me silently. He continued to stare for a few seconds before he began smiling.

"I think so too… However, we need to make sure it is safe for people to use. My friend and I will do test runs to make sure the program is safe. We'll only be doing these tests on the AmuSphere though since I still have doubts if we do it on the NerveGear. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that you will have to stop using the NerveGear for your own safety."

"I'm fine with that as I long as I get to keep it as a souvenir. Plus, they don't sell NerveGears anymore so testing on the AmuSphere is the best and only option we really have. I doubt anybody is sane enough to try the NerveGear again, save me and my brother. Well, I'm going to take my leave then. Before I go, can I have an order of mocha latte and three Pocky boxes?"

"Okay then. That'll be seven-hundred yen." Andrew demanded as he began walking out of the room to make the coffee.

"Seriously? You're going to charge a friend like me?"

"You guys didn't pay for the tea I served you the other day, and that's what you get for calling every place I run a garbage dump."

"But this place is a garbage dump." I joked him even more.

"Do you want your order or not?" Andrew groaned.

"Yes please, Andrew-san."

 **An hour later, Tokorozawa**

I finally returned to the hospital with a Sugu's slightly warm cup of coffee and three boxes of Pocky. She didn't exactly say what kind of snack she wanted, but I know she likes this stuff so it seemed like the safest option. I entered the hospital and took a big whiff of the various different aromas floating about. I made my way to the ICU wing. I made it all the way to room N7 where I saw Katsumoto awake and being fed by Suguha. She held a black plastic plate with ball-shaped food which she served to Katsumoto using chopsticks. The sauce and appearance of it… Is that takoyaki? Well, whatever it is, Katsumoto seems to be happily devouring it. I knocked on the door and entered the room.

"Yo! Kazuto! Did you give Agil the helmet?" Katsumoto greeted me.

"Yeah, I did. It turns out the file inside your helmet was some program Kayaba Akihiko made. A program that allows people to create their own virtual worlds." I told him.

"Haha!" He gleefully shouted while chewing his food. "I knew it! So, what did you do with it?"

"Agil said that he and a friend of his is going to check to see if the program is safe to use. If it is, I think we should upload it to the internet for everyone to use. Do you think also that's a good idea Katsu-nii?"

"While there are some not so great memories I had from that world, it's just something I can't resist. I would have begun using it right away, but making sure it is safe to use is probably the best first option. Good job on that. Is that Pocky for me?"

"I bought this for Sugu but I got three boxes. We can all have one box." I stated as I gave them each a box of Pocky.

Suguha set Katsumoto's share on his nightstand. She opened up her box and started munching on the chocolate covered pretzel sticks. She took three sticks and held them in her mouth. With her hands free, she continued to feed Katsumoto more takoyaki.

"Did you go out and buy that?" I asked her.

"Yup. Katsu-nii finished the entire bento I made for him, but he was still hungry. He made me go to a nearby market and get takoyaki." Suguha stated. Her voice showing annoyance and irritation. "If you were that hungry, then you should have eaten more yesterday."

"I only had lunch! We were in ALO the whole time after that!" Katsumoto complained. "Then I got sent to the hospital, and was going to receive surgery, so I couldn't eat. And then I was asleep for several hours until I woke up two hours ago. It's obvious that I would be starving by then!"

"Whatever, just eat you fat pig." Suguha joked.

"You're fatter than me…" Katsumoto grumbled back.

Suguha quickly set down her chopsticks and mercilessly punched Katsumoto hard on his right shoulder. Katsumoto jumped from the pain and he recoiled when Suguha raised her first again. She finally calmed down, but kept a stern expression on her face.

"The next one will be aimed at your stomach."

"Yes ma'am…"

"You need to stop being to blunt and savage all the time Katsu-nii." I laughed out.

"Sorry. It's just part of my nature."

 **(Andrew)**

 **Later that evening**

My wife had arrived at the café, ready to take on the night shift with me. There were already customers walking in through the door, but the bar wasn't all too crazy. With this short grace period, I took the time to check out Mortifer's NerveGear once again, as The Seed interests me greatly. I opened the file and made a copy of the executable package. Since my computer is brand new and custom-made, copying the file took only two minutes even with its large size. I then broke the executable into its own individual file and examined it. All of it was just a bunch of gibberish that I didn't understand. All of it except for one… There was a single file folder, with an odd name. It caught my curiosity, and so I decided to open it only to find that it was locked with a password. A pop-up was displayed on my screen, with the textbox to input the password, as well as another set of words right above it.

 _In the darkest of all darkness, I lie in wait. I can't be extinguished for my power is great. If you lose your way, then do not be afraid. For if you find me, then I shall guide you the way._

I realized then that the answer to the riddle is the password to unlock the file. However, the riddle was not something I've ever seen before. I went online to search it up but surprisingly found nothing of the sort. Something that lies in darkness… If this is the file's name, and this was inside Mortifer's helmet, then he must know the answer… I guess I'll wait to tell him about this when I feel the time is right.

"Andrew!" My wife's voice called out from the door way. "Hurry up! The customers are flooding in already!"

"Right! Give me a second!"

I quickly closed out of the file directory and quickly shut down my computer. I unplugged the USB connecting the NerveGear to the computer and put the helmet inside the safe underneath my desk. Mortifer would be mad if his helmet gets stolen, and there are important files in that thing. I can't afford to lose it. At least not until The Seed is uploaded, and not until I figure out what is inside that locked folder…


	12. Chapter 11: The SAO Survivors Reunion

**(Katsumoto)**

 **Almost three months later, May 2025, in the morning**

My phone's alarm went off, causing me to slowly wake up. Even though I went to bed earlier last night, I still feel so tired. With my eyes barely open, I saw that my phone was on my night stand, which stood right next to my bed. For some reason, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, so the phone was rather far away. Too lazy to move, I tried reaching for it from where I am, but I got nowhere close. I decided to suck it up and start crawling my way to the other side of the bed. I finally reached my phone and quickly turned off the alarm. I looked at the time and read it out loud.

"2:45 PM…" I yawned.

I set my phone down and began covering myself up with my blanket. I was about to doze off into sleep once again when my mind finally processed why I had an alarm in the first place. I jumped awake and grabbed my phone once again to make sure that what I saw wasn't real. Unfortunately, it was. My alarm has been ringing for almost an hour now, and yet I only woke up just now. I set this alarm to go off at one o' clock, two hours before Kazuto and Suguha's classes end. It's been snoozed for more than an hour now.

"Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" I yelled loudly as I got up from bed and ran to the bathroom to take the quickest shower of my life. "God, I regret staying up till 6 AM!"

I turned on the water and didn't even bother waiting for it to become warm. I jumped in the freezing water, enduring the pain for the sake of waking up and moving quickly. To completely make sure I didn't spend too long, I played a three-minute song while I showered. I turned off the water right as the song ended, even if I didn't fully clean myself yet. I grabbed my towel, but for some reason it's still damp from yesterday's shower. The bathroom wasn't hot enough for it to dry up. That's when I decided to run over to my closet and use my own clothes to dry myself up. I got clothes that I no longer wore and used them to dry myself up. While I did this, I headed for the bathroom once again, so I could hurry up and brush my teeth. I quickly finished brushing my teeth and drying my hair. I then got myself dressed in appropriate attire and began tidying myself up. I began washing my face since it didn't look clean enough for my standards. I hit my right eye too hard with my hand, causing the scar that was still healing to hurt slightly.

I stopped for a moment and looked at myself in the mirror. I just stood there and stared at my scarred right eye. Today will be the day Violet sees me again, as well as my own guild. Violet knows of my injuries, but my guild doesn't. This scar will likely catch them by surprise. What would they think when they see it? Who knows? Rizer is probably going to welcome me into his scarred face club, while ViVi is just going to blabber on about how I got my scar. Zed may tease me for letting someone like Sugou beat me up so badly. Either way, I need to tidy myself everywhere else if I want to look somewhat presentable.

I ran back to my room and began putting on some clothes. I'm just going to wear my casual attire since I don't have any time to do any formal wear. I found a plain white shirt and quickly put it on. I covered the white shirt with a black button-up polo shirt. I didn't bother closing my shirt since it is my style to not button it up. I then found a pair of black jeans and quickly fit myself inside of it. I grabbed my wallet from my desk as well as my car keys. I exited my room and ran down the stairs. I sat down at the end of the staircase as I put on my favorite pair of shoes. A pair of Air Jordans 3 with a black cement pattern. When I finally got my shoes on, I ran outside, locked the door and made my way to the car my family bought me last week.

When I finished my rehab a week ago, my foster parents decided that I truly have changed my ways and now greatly care for me as if I were their own son. Since they also heard the story of what I went through to save Asuna, they decided to pay me back for helping Kazuto. What I received, was my very own new and fully customized car. The car I got was a 2017 Nissan GT-R NISMO. It's an older model, but I like it better than the newer ones. Its main body is painted a metallic black with a very bright pearlescent white. The tires were made for high-end vehicles, and the rims themselves were painted a frosty white. My headlights were replaced with xenon lights, which were tinted an icy blue color. A solid black spoiler was found at the rear of the car, purely for aesthetics. The roof and hood are painted a metallic white, and the hood is also double vented. The grille was removed, leaving an exposed intercooler. My family saw no real point in the grille since I will mainly be driving around the city anyway. The front bumper had an added splitter and canards which were painted black. Finally, the rear bumper had a solid black diffuser.

The interior however, is my favorite. Black-red leather seats with a very fine red trim. A small crystallized black skull hung from my rear-view mirror, acting like a really crappy disco ball. The GT-R logo on my stirring wheel was replaced with yet another skull, but this time, it had a design similar to my tattoo back in SAO. Apparently, Kazuto asked Violet about the tattoo and she tried her best to draw what she remembered it to look like. As for the seats in the back, the speaker in between the two seats is also shaped like a skull now. I questioned my family about the absurd number of skulls, but according to Kazuto, Sugu and Violet, the more skulls the better. I get that I'm edgy, but this is too much. Though I can't complain anymore since this car is probably the most expensive thing my family owns other than our own home. While the car model itself is not so expensive because it is outdated, the number of customizations done is what costed them money. If this car didn't make a dent in my family's wallet, then I really have doubted how rich my family is. After all, even Suguha managed to buy Kazuto a Bianchi motorcycle, though it did have a huge discount.

I unlocked my car and quickly got inside. I turned on the engine and set the car on reverse. I backed out of the driveway and stopped to make sure there were no cars around. When I knew it was safe, I backed into the street and sped off towards Suguha's school which is approximately thirty minutes away from our home by car. The SAO Survivor School, the school that Kazuto and all SAO survivors who haven't graduate attend, is located over at Nishitokyo, about an hour away. Luckily for me, Suguha's school is towards that direction, so I won't be insanely late. I need to be very cautious too since students are going to be released at this hour, and because this car is precious to me. And with that, I made my way to Suguha's school.

 **Thirty minutes later**

I finally arrived as Suguha's school which still had students walking outside. Some of them stayed due to activities. Usually Suguha has after-school kendo club, but it seems to be canceled today as she did not have her kendo equipment by her side. I found her sitting on the bench in front of the school's gates. She wore her standard uniform which I used to wear long ago. She wore a white-collar shirt which was covered by a black suit vest and a red blazer. Along the collars of her shirt, was a blue bowtie. And on the collar of her blazer was a golden pin of the school's logo. She wore a matching red skirt and black cloth leggings. Finally, the uniform is topped off with brown dress shoes. When I was still in her grade, I wore a similar uniform. I didn't like it at all since it was so hot all of the time.

Suguha spotted me driving around the corner and got off the bench she was on. She made my way to me while I slowly drove up to her next to the curb. When we met, I unlocked the back trunk of my car where Suguha stored her backpack. She then took the opportunity and sat at the passenger seat up front. She leaned the chair all the way back and got into a comfortable position.

"You're late Onii-chan. I had to wait for so long." Suguha complained, putting her arm over her forehead.

"Sorry. I woke up a bit late. I shouldn't have stayed up for so long last night" I apologized to her.

"You need to sleep well Onii-chan, otherwise it will only take you longer to recover."

"Yes mother…" I groaned, rolling my eyes.

I set my foot off the brake and began heading my way towards Nishitokyo.

 **Another thirty minutes later, Nishitokyo**

The SAO Survivor School, like many other schools here in Japan, is quite large. It is located in one of the small regions of the city that wasn't dominated by tall buildings and workplaces, making it stand out from its surroundings. In fact, I believe this school used to be some abandoned building before the government decided to make it a vocational school for the SAO survivors that hadn't graduated or considered minors. If I had been born earlier, I would be part of that group of people who will attend this school. Right now, I believe everyone in my guild except for Rizer, Cayonz and myself attend the academy. All of Kazuto's friends except for Klein and Agil also attend the school alongside them. If I were to assume that half of the six-thousand surviving players are minors or not graduated, then there would be about two-hundred different classrooms in the school. While that number seems absurd to most high schools, this school covers all grades from 7th to 12th. It is a junior-high school a real-high school combined in one. There also happens to be no entrance exam, making it ideal for SAO Survivors to attend.

The school right now is rather empty. All students save for the ones with after-school activities are now gone. This made it easier for me to pick up Kazuto and Asuna, who were also waiting at the front of the school. In fact, the two of them had fallen asleep on the bench they were sitting on. Asuna was leaning her head on Kazuto's shoulder while Kazuto leaned his head on Asuna's head. Suguha saw them and I noticed the sadness in her eyes. I didn't know what to say to comfort her, so I just sighed.

"Reset your seat Suguha. They're gonna be sitting back there." I told her. "Hmm… Should I use the horn to wake them up or should I just go out and do it myself?"

"You can do whatever you want…" Suguha spoke quietly.

Not wanting to be completely rude, I took off my seatbelt and exited the car. As I walked to them, I examined their uniforms. Kazuto wore a blue blazer with a white trim. He wore a white-collared shirt underneath it along with a red tie. The school's logo was imprinted on his left shoulder. He wore matching blue pants and black dress shoes on his feet. Asuna wore a similar outfit. She wore a cropped, buttoned-up blazer with the same color scheme, a white shirt beneath which was tucked under her blue A-Line skirt. She wore grey cloth leggings and burgundy-colored shoes. Her outfit is topped off with a red bowtie.

I hurried over to them and began shaking both Kazuto and Asuna awake. They slowly opened their eyes and sat up. Kazuto pulled out his phone and looked at the time displayed on his screen.

"What the hell Katsu-nii. It's been almost an hour since school got out." Kazuto complained.

"I didn't really mind though. I got to talk with Kirito-kun more." Asuna yawned.

"I told you, its disrespectful to use character names on school grounds. Because then, people will know exactly who you were in-game. Now come on, let's get in the car."

Kazuto and Asuna got their bags and put it in the trunk of the car along with Suguha's belongings. They took their seats at the back with the giant skull-themed sound system in between them. Asuna sat behind the driver's seat while Kazuto sat behind Suguha. Asuna continued to admire my car while I got in and began driving towards Okachimachi.

"You have a really nice car Mortifer-san, err… I mean Katsumoto-san." Asuna commented.

"You can call me Mortifer if you want to, but don't do it around other SAO players." I told her.

"Okay."

"Speaking of in-game identities… Do people, you know… Know who I am?"

"Not entirely." Kazuto answered.

"What do you mean?"

"When the school first started, each grade had a huge, but short meeting. Kikuoka, the head of the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force, spoke in these meetings and told everyone the cause of the end of Sword Art Online. He mentioned that Heathcliff was indeed Kayaba Akihiko and that you and I contributed to his defeat. He also told the students to try their best not to talk about _The Reaper of Sorrow_ , as it will only stir up an uproar in Japan, causing mass hysteria."

"Did the students listen?" I asked him.

"For the most part… Rumors have been going around the school about my relationship to you. I've avoided answering to those I don't trust. The only ones who know are the people who participated in the 75th Floor Boss raid, your guild, and some of my friends whom I trust."

"Well, that's good enough for me I guess…"

"Enough talk about your secret identity. I want to know, are you ready for the party?" Kazuto asked me. "The party starts in forty minutes, but we are an hour away, so we will be late. But when we arrive, you'll get to see your guild and everyone else who was invited to it. They'll be pretty shocked to see that scar of yours."

"To be honest, I was quite shocked too despite being told about it by Kazuto-kun." Asuna admitted. "You must have gone through a lot of pain at that time…"

"Yeah… I guess I did…"

 **An hour later, Okachimachi**

I found a parking lot near the Dicey Café and found an open space near the entrance. I told Kazuto, Suguha and Asuna to go on ahead to the café since I had to wait in line for the automated ticket booth. There were about three people waiting in front of me, so it shouldn't take that much time. While I waited, I went to check my phone. I had received text messages from Agil and Violet, asking me where we were. Seeing no point in responding to the text since we are already here, I put my phone back into my pocket and continued waiting. When I was finally up, I took out my wallet and paid for my parking ticket. I then quickly rushed to the café.

As I got closer, I began hearing noises of people partying and having a great time. I stopped running and slowed down to a walking pace. I stopped in front of the bar's entrance and noticed the sign hanging on the door. It read "Closed for a Private Party". Andrew put up this sign so random people don't aimlessly walk into the bar and find themselves in the middle of a private party. I reached for the brass handle on the door and grasped it. I was about to push it open before I stopped myself. Almost everyone in this party will know who I am. There is no way I can hide from them, not this time. I let out a long sigh and faced my fears. I pushed open the door, letting light leak in, and walked inside.

The loud partying noises I could hear from outside became louder as I entered the same room it is coming from. There were over sixty people in the bar, and all of them were having a great time. Agil, who was working behind the counter as usual, was the first person to notice me. He took a wine glass and began gently hitting it with a fork, creating a loud ringing noise. The room went silent. Everyone looked towards him at first before they noticed me standing at the doorway. Nobody spoke a single word and continued to stare at me. When the silence was becoming too awkward, Kazuto and Asuna came to my side and held up their glasses towards the ceiling.

"Okay everyone, you know what to do!" Asuna shouted with glee.

"On three! One… Two…!" Kazuto counted. Before the last count, everyone in the room raised their glasses to me. "Three!"

"Mortifer! Congratulations on beating Sword Art Online!" Everyone in the room applauded.

"Cheers!" Kazuto shouted as he handed me a drink and raised his own glass even higher.

"Cheers!" Everyone shouted with smiles on their faces.

I heard a loud pop as confetti appeared out of nowhere and fell on everyone's' heads. I was left dumbfounded while everyone took a sip of their drink. I did not expect a greeting such as this. In fact, I didn't expect one at all. I was anticipating people giving me the cold shoulder and staring down at me with ill-intent, but none of that happened. Everyone had smiles on their faces and continued the good vibe of the party. Though I was still confused, I took a sip of my own drink and let Kazuto and Asuna drag me towards the center of the room. We stopped in front of a large crowd of people who acted like a wall, separating us and what was behind them. Asuna dove into the crowd and disappeared. After a few seconds, the crowd began parting, revealing a large rounded table with nine people sitting down beside it.

My guild sat quietly on the table, eating and drinking. Most of the group wore the standard uniform of the SAO Survivor School, since everyone except for Rizer and Cayonz came from there a few hours ago. The moment the crowd had parted, they all turned to look to my direction. Only one person remained turned away, but I could tell who it was just by looking at the back of their head. The same purple streaks I saw before were still there, except brighter than before since she had dyed it again. Her long silky hair reflected light like it was a pseudo-mirror. She then turned around, revealing the face which I had not seen for so long. My world melted as I looked upon her beautiful eyes once again. Violet, or Yuzuki Ai, was now looking at me with eyes of longing. She stood up from her chair and ran over to embrace me.

Everyone around us applauded as I finally got to meet Violet in the real world. I can now directly feel the touch of her hand. Smell the scent of her hair. Sense the warmth from within her body. She buried her face in my shoulders and soon began crying tears of joy. When she pulled away, I can faintly see the darkened spots on my jacket. She looked at me with teary eyes and smiled.

"I finally got to meet you, Mortifer… In the real world. It's such a simple thing, yet it's making me so happy." She sobbed. Violet wiped away her tears and gave me one of her special smiles. "Hello, my name is Yuzuki Ai. I miss you, Mortifer-san."

"Hello Ai, my name is Kirigaya Katsumoto. I miss you too."

We pulled each other into a passionate kiss and the crowd around us went into an uproar. I ignored the sounds of cheering and focused only on Violet. The loneliness I've felt due to me not being with her is slowly faded away into nothing. Although I could have met her multiple times before this when she returned, we wanted to make today our reunion, and I think it was worth it. Our lips stayed together for ten seconds before we finally broke apart. She took her hands and held my face with it, rubbing my scar gently with her left thumb. I put my right hand up to her own and held it

"Have you been recovering well?" She quietly asked me.

"As well as I can." I told her.

She moved her hands away from my face and took mine. We held our hands by our sides and smiled as we walked to my guild's table. Next to where Violet was seated, ViVi frantically ate his bag of chips like a glutton. Even in real life, ViVi wears far too much clothing. Over his uniform, he wore a puffy jacket and even had a scarf going around his neck. To his right was Trish. She remained in her school uniform and is doing her homework instead of partying around like everyone else. Next to Trish was Aqua, who completely shocked me. Unlike what I saw in-game, Aqua wore barely any clothing. She wore a white, spaghetti-strap belly shirt that barely covered her belly button, a black leather flared mini-skirt, and a matching pair of black knee-high boots. Sitting beside Aqua was Konno. He too kept wearing his school uniform, but he has taken off his blazer and put it around his chair. He waved at me while draining his glass of soda through a straw. Beside him, was Zed and Paradox. Zed had his arm around Paradox while she leaned on Zed's shoulder. Paradox smiled at me while Zed picked his teeth with a metal chopstick. Beside them stood Cayonz, who was by far the tallest man in the room, just a little bit taller than Agil. It seems that he had just gotten out of work since he was dressed formally. He was drinking a mug of beer with Rizer, who stood right next to him before heading towards me. The guy wore a white tank top and black sweat pants, as if he was just at the gym. He headed over to me with two tankards of beer. He reached his hand out for me to grab it, and I hesitantly did so.

"Yo, Mortifer! That's a pretty nasty scar! What the hell happened to your eye?!" Rizer shouted through the noise of the party.

"I heard someone put you in the hospital from ViVi." Zed announced. ViVi frantically tried to shush up Zed, but Violet was already staring down her cousin.

"I thought I told you to keep it a secret…" Violet glared down at her cousin.

"I'm sorry!" ViVi cried out in fear.

"It's fine Violet. I was planning on telling everyone anyway. Though I want to do it in a more private place. I doubt you could hear me anyway in this crazy place." I admitted. "Anyways, it's nice to see you guys again. I haven't seen any of you ever since SAO ended. Should we do proper, real world introductions?"

"I don't see any harm in doing so." Ai smiled. She then pointed a finger to me. "Everyone, this is Kirigaya Katsumoto, the older brother of Kirigaya Kazuto, or Kirito."

"Hello Kirigaya-san! I'm Viriyaki Vitushi." ViVi greeted me awkwardly, leaning back to the point where his head was upside down when I looked at it.

"M-My name is Patricia… Patricia Nihad…" Trish timidly spoke.

"I'm Ariel. Ariel Freeman." Aqua introduced herself while checking on her phone.

Konno stood up from his seat and bowed towards me.

"Hello. My name is Nakamura Haru. You can just call me Haru. It's nice to meet you in the real world, Kirigaya-san."

"Jeez Konno, you don't need to be so polite to him." Zed groaned. He took the metal chopstick out of his mouth and twirled it around his fingers like what he does with his knives in-game. "I am Watari Ryu. So, who put you in the hospital?"

"Watari-kun!" Paradox cried out. She looked back at me and cleared her throat. "Hello Katsumoto-san. My name is Satō Midori. It really is nice to see you again after so long."

I turned to Cayonz, who downed the last of his beer. He wiped his face clean before holding his hand out for a handshake.

"Hello there Katsumoto." He bellowed in that familiar deep voice. "My name is Zoan. Zoan Hendrickson. I look forward to our time together in ALfheim Online."

"I do too, Zoan-san." I responded while shaking his hand. His grip was as soft as always. I then turned to Rizer.

 _"_ _My name is Zachary. Zachary Smith."_ Rizer greeted me in English, confusing everyone except for me, Cayonz and Aqua. _"Are you over twenty? If so, let's get hungover! It'll be fun!"_

 _"_ _I'd rather not Zach."_ I answered to him in English. _"Can I call you Zach?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, sure! Go on ahead!"_

 _"_ _Well, we're going to be going into ALO after this party, so I want to stay focused during the dive."_

 _"_ _That's fine with me! It just means more booze for myself and Cayonz!"_ Rizer cheered as he gave Zoan another tankard of beer.

"Why did you guys have to speak in English?" Violet grumbled in annoyance.

"It makes the greeting much more… unique." I told her.

I continued to hang out with my guild for a few more minutes. They shared stories of what they did before the school year started, talking about their rehabilitation and other things they did to keep their mind off of SAO. Afterwards, they talked about school and who is classmates with who. Rizer mentioned that he has been going around looking for jobs and says that he was accepted into some company that mass produces the parts required to create the AmuSphere. Cayonz said that he managed to get a job at RECT Progress, only for it to close down a week after he started due to its connections with the ALO incident. I apologized to Cayonz personally, but he forgave me. Apparently, Violet persuaded her dad to give Cayonz a job at his company.

"Wait, so what company does your family run Violet?" I asked her.

"My father is CEO of Ymir." Violet stated, shocking me and Kazuto who was nearby.

"Wait, wait, wait… Hold on!" Kazuto shouted as he ran over to our table. "Your family owns the Ymir company?! The family that bought the ownership rights of ALfheim Online?!"

Everyone around the table, except for ViVi, was utterly shocked.

"Huh? Did Violet not tell you guys about it? Her family is super rich!" ViVi exclaimed, spreading his arms out wide.

"Vitushi-kun! Stop it! It's… embarrassing…" Violet cried out, burying her face in my shoulder.

Violet had told me before that she lived in Setagaya, which is one of the more expensive places in Japan. While it hints that her family is rather wealthy, I had no clue they owned such a big-name company like Ymir. Should her family invest most of their time and money in improving ALfheim Online, I have no doubt that the net worth of company can nearly double. Cayonz must also have an interesting job if he is working for the same company that runs the game we all play.

"Do you get perks for being the daughter of the company's CEO?" Rizer asked Violet.

"I mean… I can get things if I wanted them, but that's basically cheating, so I'm not going to do it." Violet responded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking upon a truly innocent gamer girl!" Rizer announced openly, causing Violet to punch him on the side. "Okay… I learned my lesson."

"Can we not talk about my family's company anymore?" Violet pleaded. I pulled her close to me and covered her in a warm hug.

"Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, then we will stop."

I talked with my guildmates a bit more, before I left them to head over to the counter where Kirito, Klein, Agil and another person were sitting at. As I got closer, the third person became more and more recognizable until I determined it to be Thinker, the man who was saved by Kirito and Asuna in the 1st Floor dungeon. If I recall correctly, it was Kibaou that led him into a trap there. Anyways, I headed over and sat next to them. I noticed Klein is in his work clothes and also noticed that he was drinking a bourbon on the rocks.

"Don't you have work after this?" I asked him.

"Kirito already asked me that." Klein mentioned. "I can't pull overtime without alcohol. Besides, if you look over there... I see something very nice."

He pointed to where a lot of girls in the party were hanging out at, including Asuna and a few of Kazuto's other female friends. Klein stared at them intently, making me roll my eyes at how desperate he is to find a partner in life. He continued gazing at them while I turned back to face everyone else.

"Hello Mortifer-san. It seems you are quite respected by the people in this party. It seems that you have found a new name for yourself." Thinker greeted me.

"I doubt it." I told him. "Almost everybody in SAO knows who I am and what I did. The people who attended this party likely have forgiven me, or was told to not show their hatred for me."

"Don't worry Katsu-nii. Nobody here was told to act nice towards you. They are doing so out of their own will." Kazuto informed me while taking a sip of what looks like oolong tea.

"Some of them may be faking it, but I don't really care anymore. As long as everyone has a great time at this party, that would be enough for me. Anyways, Agil, how's The Seed been doing lately?"

"It's going great." Agil exclaimed. "There are about fifty mirror servers with at least one-hundred-thousand downloads. Another three-hundred major servers actually run the program, and are seeing no problems with it. You want to see?"

"Sure." I answered.

"Don't forget me!" Klein shouted as he turned back around.

Agil went over to the end of the bar where he retrieved his laptop. He brought it over to us and showed us a browser window that had a line chart and a counter displayed on it. The chart depicted the amount of times The Seed, has been downloaded ever since we released it out to the public in February. Two months after that, Ymir re-established ALO and gave it a makeover by removing the flight duration limit the game used to have. Former ALO players had their data transferred to New ALO. Even SAO players had their game data from the original servers in Argus saved and transferred to New ALO, allowing them to keep the stats. Ymir even allowed SAO players to convert to a modified their SAO avatar that was modified slightly to fit the race they chose. Apparently, it was Violet who had recommended this option, and a lot of us are grateful for her requesting it. Other than that, New ALO is going to have a big event tonight, which is why we chose this date for the SAO Survivors Reunion.

"The after party is still happening, right?" Kazuto asked Agil.

"Yup. Eleven o' clock at night, over at Yggdrasil City. We will all be gathering there for the big reveal." Agil confirmed.

After hanging out with them for a little longer, I got up from my chair and looked around. My guild was currently watching as Rizer arm wrestled some guy. Rizer won the competition with ease and faced another opponent. It seems they are lining up to see if they can win against him. I'm afraid the only one who nearly has enough strength to do so is Cayonz and Agil, though Agil is busy and Cayonz doesn't like to get too much attention. I looked to an emptier side of the room, where I spotted Suguha sitting at a table, alone. I let out a long sigh and made my way to her. I slid through the crowd and confronted Suguha, who noticed me heading to her long before I reached her. She simply looked down at the drink she was holding as I approached her.

"Sugu… What's wrong?" I asked her. I kneeled down so I could meet with her eyes. She looked into my eyes, and I could see the loneliness in hers.

"I… I want to go home now…" She answered quietly.

"Why?"

Suguha's eyes began tearing up.

"Because… It's just too far away. Where you, no… Where all of you guys are… There's just no way for me to go that far."

"Sugu…"

I started thinking of things to say to her, but found nothing. I searched through my mind and memories so much yet found nothing. Well, that is until I remembered a poster Suguha had in her room. It was put up on the ceiling, so everytime she woke up or got out of a FullDive, she would be able to see it. The poster was an in-game photo, apparently taken by Recon. She looked so happy in that picture, flying through the sky with white doves by her side. And it was also the first time she used her very own wings without the controller… Wings…

"Sugu… You can go anywhere you want, and nobody can tell you otherwise." I told her. "Tell me… Why do you like flying so much?"

"F-Flying? I… I like it because… Because I feel so free and... and I feel like I can go anywhere I-"

Suguha's voice faltered as she realized the words she was about to say. I gave her a big smile and enclosed her hands within mine.

"You feel like you can go… What did you say, Sugu?" I asked her, trying to encourage her to say the word she was thinking of.

"Like I can go anywhere I want to…"

I smiled at her

"That's right… In-game or real life, it doesn't matter where we are. You have the wings that can take you to the distance. No matter where we are, you will always be able to reach us as long as you believe in yourself, and your wings. It's similar to why Kazuto and I dove into Sword Art Online. We wanted to go to a world we had never seen before, and go to places that we couldn't possibly get to in the real world. It was our dream to go to a place like that, just like how it is your dream to be able to go anywhere you want to. Don't go saying things about how you can't reach us. You will always be able to go with us, and if you happen to be falling behind, then we will slow down for you… And take all the time in the world to make sure that our little sister is right by our side."

I fully believe in the words I just spoke. I am also confident that those exact words had reached Suguha and her heart because Suguha had tears streaming down her face. Just like what happens in-game, Suguha could no longer hold her true feelings inside, and let it all out without holding back.

"Katsu-nii…" Sugu weeped.

I moved closer to her and embraced her while she buried her face in my shoulder and cried. The sounds of partying muffled her cries, allowing us to share the moment privately instead of publicly. It would have been better that way anyway since Suguha would feel embarrassed crying in front of so many people. In fact, I believe the tears she is shedding now is far more than what she shed when she found out that Kazuto was indeed Kirito, and that I was Mortifer. I really hope that is true because I want to make sure Suguha is always happy. She is not Sugu without that smile on her face. And after a minute of muffled crying, Suguha finally calmed herself down and wiped her tears away. She broke away from my hug and looked at me with a bright smile on her face.

"Thank you Katsu-nii." She beamed. "That's just what I needed."

"Anything for you Sugu…" I smiled back at her. I then took Suguha's hands and got up from the ground. "Now come on, I want you to meet my guild. This will be your first step to catching up with us on our never-ending journey!"

I enthusiastically dragged Suguha through the masses and stopped at my guild's table. Rizer has finally finished defeating all of his opponents and has come out undefeated. He cradled his right arm and was sweating like crazy. Violet was sitting next to him, offering him a large glass of cold water. Rizer accepted the glass and downed its contents in mere seconds. He set the glass down a bit too hard, causing the table to shake and scare Trish, who was still trying to finish her homework. I pulled up a chair next to Violet and forcefully sat Suguha down. Everyone in my guild looked at Suguha, then at me. They all held confused expressions. I kneeled down and put my arm around Suguha.

"Everyone, this is Kirigaya Suguha, my little sister. She wanted to get to know you guys better, so will you please be nice and introduce yourselves to her? Talk about school, ALO, or something. I don't know." I ordered my guild. Everyone except Violet looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"It really is a pleasure to meet you in person, Suguha-san." Violet warmly greeted.

"Um... Hello Violet-san." She stuttered, "I-It's nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot of things about you from Katsu-nii when he was still in the hospital…"

"Have you now? What's he told you?" She asked, smiling and looking at me with despicable eyes. My anxiety built as I wondered what Suguha will tell her.

"He told me you were his in-game wife, and that you were the first friend he ever made in the game." Suguha stated. "He mentioned you guys met a month after the game started and stayed together till the very end of it. He said that you guys have gone through a lot together, and how he almost killed you twice."

"Oh yes I remember that well…" Violet teased me.

Violet proceeded to lightly punch me on my arm. When she did so, my mind ached as I began remembering those very memories from back then. The assassination mission, and the execution day... Yes, those were the times I had almost killed Violet. The Voices began growing and that's when I realized that I needed to stop thinking about them. I closed my eyes and moved my arm away from Suguha. I placed it on the back of her seat and gripped it tightly.

"I wouldn't really consider the one during the execution a close call. He didn't even bring you down to the yellow zone with that strike." Rizer stated. "But when he came for us with those _Laughing Coffin_ guys, that was scary. And that guy was strong too! Mortifer's partner! What was his name again? SaSa or something?"

The Voices in my head began growing to the point where my head is now aching.

"I think it was pronounced ZaZa, like with a Z." Zed stated. "It sounds like it's spelled with a Z, but the guy really spelled it with-"

"Stop!" I shouted at my guild.

Everyone in my guild, as well as a couple of the people around us, stopped in their tracks and looked at me. My arm was now shaking violently, and Violet noticed this. The Voices raged inside my head. I tried my best to push them back, but I couldn't. When I closed my eyes, I began seeing faces… Their faces… My head boomed with pain and I quickly stood up and began heading for the exit. I roughly pushed through the crowd, angering some of the party-goers. I passed by Kazuto and Asuna, who looked at me oddly. I reached for the handle of the door, grabbed it, and pulled the door open. I stumbled outside, taking in the sunlight and fresh air. Well, at least as fresh as the air in Japan could get. I stood out at the center of the road and concentrated on breathing deeply. I heard the bar's doors opening and the sound of shoes hitting the ground. I turned around and looked at Violet, who had her arms crossed behind her back.

"So… They're still in your head, huh?" Violet spoke quietly, looking down to the ground.

"Yeah… Sorry for not telling you about it…" I apologized to her. "It really wasn't something that was happening to me inside the game after all. It's an actual thing affecting me in the real world… Only makes me question my sanity even more now that I think about it…"

"You can't be called insane if those Voices are actually real." Violet affirmed. "You have a handful of witnesses who have seen and heard those Voices in your head. You got me, Zed, and I found out earlier that Asuna heard them as well. Zed has claimed to have seen what had happened to Paradox at…"

Violet stopped, realizing that if she said it, it would only make my current condition even worse. I stopped myself from thinking about it, saving myself from more pain.

"Have you tried doing therapy? Or some sort of counseling?"

"Even if I did, what would I tell them Violet?" I argued. "While there's been proof that I can use the Voices to communicate with people somewhat, it's not a definite confirmation. Plus, if I tell them I have killed over eighty people, they would probably put me in a mental hospital or just straight up prison."

Violet let out a long sigh and walked towards me. She forcefully put my hands around her, meeting behind her lower back. She then put both arms around my neck and tilted her head off to the side. She then gave me another one of her special smiles.

"Why do you have to make things so much harder than it really is?" Violet asked me.

Violet leaned towards me and pulled me into a passionate kiss. Warmth spread through my body once again, and the pain inside my head began fading. When our lips broke apart, we touched our foreheads together and stood there, sharing each other's warmth. The Voices began fading back into the darkness, blinded and scared of the light that is Violet. She stood up straight and looked at me right into my eyes.

"Did that help?" She asked me, smiling.

"Yes… It did." I responded as I pulled her in for another kiss.

I couldn't tell if I was doing it out of lust, or doing it so I could bask in Violet's warmth a little bit longer. Probably both since I haven't seen Violet in such a long time, and I have been feeling so lonesome for the past couple months. I guess I could also consider it my apology for making out with Sakuya in ALO. Shoot… I still need to tell her about that. Maybe I'll do it later. Right now, I'll focus on Violet, and only on Violet. After all, nothing can separate us, not even our inevitable death. And I will always be with her until she is sick and tired of seeing me.

 **A few hours later, sunset**

The bar which was so full and noisy earlier is now rather empty and quiet. Only Rika, Asuna, Kazuto, Suguha and I remain. I am not counting Andrew since he owns the place, so he needs to stay here to clean up the mess we made. Rika, or Lizbeth, was the co-host and is helping up Andrew clean the place up, though she was mainly doing so since her father was late to pick her up. As for Asuna, I am going to have to drive her home to Setagaya. She could have gone with Violet since they both live near the same area, but Asuna wanted to stay with Kazuto a little bit longer. Violet also wanted to stay, but my car can only carry up to four people. Speaking of my car, my guild was rather surprised when they went to see my car. Zed was especially jealous since he too wants his own car to drive around in. Anyways, all of us were helping in cleaning up when I heard a sharp whistle. I looked to where it originated from and saw Andrew waving for me to go to him. I set down the chair I was going to stack and headed over to him.

"You called for me?" I asked him.

"Yeah. There is something I wanted to show you. Something that I found inside the World Seed package I got from your NerveGear." Andrew stated. "It didn't play a role in the virtual reality creation, so I removed it from the downloadable file I put up online. After all, it seems like it was meant for your eyes only."

Andrew retrieved his laptop where a file browser window displayed the copied contents of The Seed package. He scrolled down until he came across one locked file folder. It was called The Gift. The file caught my curiosity, as well as everyone else's since they all gathered around me to check out what was going on. I selected the file and a pop-up opened with the password input. Right above the input area was some sort of hint.

"In the darkest of all darkness, I lie in wait." I began reading out loud. "I can't be extinguished for my power is great. If you lose your way, then do not be afraid. For if you find me, then I shall guide you the way."

The first sentence had already given me the answer to this supposed password. Other people could very well figure out this weird riddle. And while the message the riddle is trying to convey may not be affecting others, people like me who dwell on the edge of two polar opposites fully believe in something like this.

"The password is Light." I told Andrew.

Andrew inputted the password into the textbox, and the pop-up disappeared. Another thing popped up in the computer screen, but this time it was the computer's built in media player. It began playing an audio file which started off silent before I heard a very familiar voice spoke.

 _"_ _Hello Mortifer-kun." He said. That voice… It's Kayaba Akihiko's. "I see that you have managed to find and open this file, though I don't doubt that it took you no effort in doing so. Nonetheless, this file is as you see it – a gift. A gift to you, the only one in my world who not only managed to break its boundaries, but also managed to defeat the god of said world. Unlike the_ _World Seed_ _, no favor needs to be returned. After all, this is a gift. When this recording finishes, a new file will be downloaded to the computer which this recording is being played at. It is another package, like the MHCP stored within Kirito-kun's NerveGear. Don't waste too much time because the person waiting for you in there may be growing rather impatient."_

A file package like Yui, and a person who is waiting for me? What the hell is Kayaba talking about?

 _"_ _If you wish to meet with this person, then copy the package and export it to your NerveGear or AmuSphere. Make sure to store it in the device's local memory banks, or nothing will happen. Afterwards, you will be able to meet them inside ALfheim Online. However, if you choose to not meet up with this person, then you have my full permission to delete the package and erase its existence from the net. Should you choose to delete it, I have told the person waiting for you that he must be prepared for that scenario. Unfortunately, I can only give you a few minutes to choose whether or not you will want to see this man. Make haste Mortifer-kun."_

The recording window closed and Andrew's screen turned black. The computer then began the download of the file. When the download finished, a countdown timer appeared, ticking down from two minutes. Two buttons, "Keep" or "Delete", were displayed on the screen. We all looked at the file which had a very familiar name to it. The file was called The Darkness Within.

"That file's name has the same name of the quest I undertook after _that_ night happened."

"That night…" Asuna whimpered, suddenly remembering the story Violet had supposedly told her.

"Does it also have to do with that Cave you entered? You still haven't really gone into much detail on that with us." Kazuto stated.

"Can we pause for one second?" Rika demanded. "What the hell are you guys talking about? _That_ night? A cave?"

"It's a really long and complicated story that I do not wish to tell at this time. It will only make me remember bad memories. Telling it to only a few people wouldn't be worth the migraine and chance of passing out." I declared.

"So, what are you going to do with the file then?" Andrew asked. "You can't simply remove content from a game once it's downloaded into its servers. If ALO accepts the package and doesn't identify it as some foreign object, it would want to keep it. Therefore, if you wish to delete it afterwards, you're going to need to contact a server admin. Even then, it would be hard since they would want to question you on why and how we got such a thing into the system."

"Well, we do have Violet as a friend, but I don't want to abuse her perks as the daughter of Ymir's CEO. Though that will make this decision much harder for me…" I stated.

I stared at the file's name, and the timer right next to it. It had already been one minute, but I still couldn't decide whether or not I should keep the file. My mind wanted me to delete it, but deep down inside, my gut instincts are telling me to keep the file. I then stared at the name one last time, and recalled what Kayaba had said. A person is waiting for me in there… My eyes widened as I realized who that person could possibly be. But I also realized that it may not be him, and it may be that other guy, or even that giant monster. I still don't know Kayaba's real personality, so it is quite difficult determining who this person is. Well, at least I have narrowed my search down to a few names.

"Katsu-nii! Ten seconds!" Kazuto yelled, snapping me back to reality. "Do you want to keep it, or delete it?!"

"Keep it! Keep it!" I quickly yelled back in response. Andrew moved the mouse over and selected the "Keep" option, removing the timer. I let out a quick sigh and looked at the screen. "The file name narrowed down my guesses on who the person is, and since I am a bit confident about who is waiting for me, I chose to keep it."

"I'll go get a flash drive for you guys to use. It's a big file, so it requires a big flash drive. I do hope you return it to me afterwards." Andrew said as he disappeared into the backrooms. As he did that, the door of the café opened, and a man poked his head through the door.

"Rika! I'm here! Let's go back home!" He called out.

"Okay Oto-san." Rika answered. She ran over to pick up her bag and hurried over to the door. "See you guys later!"

We waved good bye to Rika who closed the door behind her. It was now just me, Kazuto, Suguha and Asuna remaining in the room. After waiting for a minute, Andrew appeared once again, holding a silver flash drive. He began copying the files into the flash drive and gave it to me. Kazuto then held his hand out to me.

"Here, give it to me. I'll put it in your new AmuSphere right away." Kazuto implied. I gave Kazuto the flash drive and he put it in the pocket of his blazer. "Let's go home now Katsu-nii. It's getting late, and we still need to drive Asuna to Setagaya. We need to be in the game by eleven."

"Yeah, let's go now."

 **A few hours later, 10:30 PM JST**

We had left the café around six-thirty. Rush hour traffic was unbelievable since we were in the Tokyo area. It took us an hour and a half to get to Setagaya just to drop off Asuna at her home when the usual trip takes half an hour to a full hour. I would have wanted to see Violet's place, but I decided to just back instead. The return trip wasn't as bad since the traffic died down a little bit. However, it still took us another two and a half hours to do so. I now remember why people usually take the trains despite it being crowded inside them all the time.

Regardless, the moment we arrived at home, Kazuto went to go upload the contents of the flash drive into my AmuSphere. He told me it would take some time to do so since it was such a big file, so I took that time to sit on the couch and relax. I felt tired, but I forced myself to stay awake. Even though Kazuto could just wake me up later, I will only wake up feeling groggy if I choose to sleep now. I made myself two sandwiches and sat down on the couch to watch some television.

"What anime is on tonight…"

 **Several minutes later**

Unfortunately, nothing aired on television at this time. It took me a while to remember that anime typically aired in the mornings so I just got stuck with watching YouTube videos on my phone. After watching a compilation of people doing parkour, I went to Thinker's website, the MMO Tomorrow, the most popular net gaming information website. The front page of the website showed the midnight release of the biggest addition New ALO will receive ever. This event is what we are gathering for over at Yggdrasil City, and I am totally hyped for it.

I scrolled through the rest of the page and went to a private forum inside the website that only former SAO players can access. At the very top of this private forum was a post by Thinker himself, talking about his time in the SAO Survivors reunion. He talked about how he really enjoyed being there and meeting other players who experienced the same things he did. He hinted the fact that he had met me and my guild but it was very subtle.

"Yo! Katsumoto!" Kazuto called out from upstairs. "You can use your AmuSphere now! The extraction is done!"

"All right! Thanks for telling me!" I yelled back as I turned off the TV.

I finished the rest of my sandwich and set my plate of crumbs at the sink for me to clean tomorrow morning. I wiped the crumbs off my face and my hands. I got a glass of water and quickly downed its contents. I began heading upstairs to my room while I took out my phone. During the party, I collected everyone's phone number and created a group chat so anyone can quickly contact everyone else without breaking a sweat. I entered my room as I began texting inside of the group chat. I sat down on my bed and sent the text to everyone, hoping that everyone who isn't in the game yet will be able to see it.

 _Remember guys, we are meeting at the plaza of_ _Yggdrasil City_ _at 11:00. Don't miss out. I'm diving right now._

I set my phone down on my nightstand and put on my AmuSphere. I lied down in bed, got into a comfortable position, and relaxed. Now, let's just see who exactly is waiting for us in the game…

"Link start!"

/

/

/

 _In case you need clarification on the guild's names, some of them said their last name first, and then their first name. Here, I will once again list their names in **First Name, Last Name** order._

 _Mortifer - Katsumoto Kirigaya_

 _Violet - Ai Yuzuki_

 _Rizer - Zachary Smith_

 _Paradox - Midori Satō_

 _Cayonz - Zoan Hendrickson_

 _Zed - Ryu Watari_

 _Konno - Haru Nakamura_

 _ViVi - Vitushi Viriyaki_

 _Aqua - Ariel Freeman_

 _Trish - Patricia Nihad_


	13. Chapter 12 (Finale): The Gift

**(Mortifer)**

 **The Alphine Areas, the Imp Capital**

I haven't been inside ALfheim Online ever since it got shutdown a few months back. Because my last location was at the top of the World Tree, which has long since changed with the addition of Yggdrasil City Due to the change, the mapping data of my last location got messed up and has now placed me all the way at the Imp capital. I now have to fly all the way back to the World Tree, which took us an entire day. However, with the removal of the flight duration limit, flying to the World Tree shouldn't take too long, especially with my absurd flying speed. If I take the Dragon Valley route or the Rainbow Valley route, I can get to the World Tree in less than an hour. Hopefully I get there in less than thirty minutes, but I doubt that will happen. Nonetheless, I need to find my way out of this Imp capital.

This is actually my first time seeing the actual place. Normally, I would see it upon choosing my race. However, due to that bug caused by my SAO data, I got placed over at Sylph territory. Now, I finally get to see what it's like to be an Imp. Already though, I am not enjoying it too much. While I liked the underground theme of cities like this one and Legrue, the place just didn't suit my tastes. I was expecting it to look a little bit more fairy-like or elvish, but what I got was a simple trash heap of stone and clay buildings. No edges or details on the buildings were refined and the shape was very rough. It reminded me of adobe homes of those native Indians in the Americas. The only impressive thing about the underground capital were the floating mineral lights, and the giant capital building which acted like a support pillar for the entire cavern.

I walked around the place, looking for an exit. I saw dozens of Imps walking around the capital, talking to friends or buying things in the NPC vendors. Some of the Imps gave me threatening looks which I ignored. These guys don't look friendly at all, and are probably worse than Salamanders. If I provoke them, it will only take me even longer to get out of this place. Come on Mortifer, find the light…

"Ugh… Why does light have to be so hard to find in all the caves I go and visit…" I thought out loud.

At that moment, I bumped into a giant Imp player. The force of our collision felt too strong, making me assume he did it on purpose or tried pushing me a little bit. I fell down on my butt, feeling a slight tingling sensation since the pain absorber prevented me from feeling it. My sword fell out of its sheathe so I grabbed it and put it back. The Imp player stood off to my side, glaring down at me with intimidating eyes. Two others stood next to him, crossing their arms across their chest and also looking down at me.

"Watch where you're going fool." The giant Imp growled. His two companions began laughing.

"Watch where I'm going?" I questioned him. "You must be so blind, not even your night vision helps you in this shithole you call a capital."

My insult directed to the Imp capital caught the attention of many Imps around me. The giant Imp's two compatriots began surrounding me, preventing me from fleeing. This is my first time being in the Imp capital, and I'm already being picked at by my own race. I looked at their equipment and noticed their heavy armor and weapons. The giant Imp had a Warhammer on his back while the other two wielded broadswords. Those weapons will pack a punch, but it will also hinder their movements, making it a rather easy fight for me.

"Three tank players against one lightweight? Just goes to show how bad players are these days." I taunted them. The Imps gritted their teeth, and the spectating Imps are now getting interested. "You're going to need three more players of your size to beat me, fatty. You guys are far too weak."

The three Imps looked at each other and began laughing. They slowly drew out their weapons while I looked at the giant Imp with unamused eyes. I smirked at them and began cracking my fists, preparing for a fight. The Imp bullies and even the spectating Imps began laughing at my actions. When I was done preparing, I gave them an evil smile. I raised up my fists and prepared for a brawl. The giant Imp attacked me first, doing an overhead swing with his Warhammer. He left his body wide open, and I didn't have the mercy to look over that. I punched the guy right in the gut, forcing him to drop his weapon. I then grabbed him by the neck, flipped him over, and slammed the guy's back right on the ground. The two Imps behind me began their attack, and I used the fallen Imp's Warhammer to block both of them with ease.

"Did anyone ever tell you it is cowardly to attack someone from behind?" I asked them.

The two of them snarled at me and pulled away from the block, allowing me to quickly swing the Warhammer at them. They dodged the attack, but all I wanted was to create more space between us. When I was comfortable again, I swung the Warhammer at them once again, but letting go of it as if throwing. It spun in the air and almost hit both of the Imps, but they ducked just in time. Unfortunately, one of the spectators were hit by the flying weapon, and they got sent flying into the dirt ground. Everyone looked at the fallen Imp, including myself. The collateral damage victim recovered from the blow and glared at me with rage-fueled eyes. Next thing I knew, all the spectators were now scowling at me. It was an accident, and I was doing it out of self-defense, yet these guys are siding with the bullies? What the hell is wrong with society these days. All the Imps around me drew out weapons, forcing me to draw out both of my _Obsidian Blades_. Not wanting to draw any more attention to my face, I put the mask I had bought back in  Alne. It magically returned to me inventory after I carelessly forgot I dropped it. I hide my face behind the mask and smiled.

"Come at me then."

All the Imps around me charged forward. Seven people were fighting me at once. Three big Imps, and four others who were about my size or smaller. If this were SAO, victory would have depended on the difference of stats between me and my attackers. But since this is ALO, the extreme combat system gives me an advantage since most gamers don't typically work out all the time, making their avatar's physical capabilities much lower than mine. I'm not trying to brag, but unless these guys are athletic or trained in kendo, they don't stand a chance. I summoned my wings and tackled the biggest Imp, which happened to be the one who started this fight with me. I picked up the guy by the leg and threw him at the other two big Imps. All three of them fell to the ground, allowing me to attack the four others with ease.

I went after the smallest of the Imps, and quickly took him down by slashing at his legs and giving him a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. The next Imp wore light armor and wielded a quarterstaff, reminding me of ViVi. I pulled out three throwing knives and forced the Imp to dodge them. Because of this, he left himself wide open for me to use my own sword as a projectile. My sword found its mark on the abdomen of the Imp, catching him by surprise. I took that time to rip the staff from his hands and whack him on the head with his own weapon. I retrieved my blades and sheathed them since I will be using this guy's quarterstaff. I have no previous experience with a weapon like this, but I'm not going to use it to fight properly anyway. I held the rod at one of its ends and waved it around my head like a giant bat. The remaining five Imps now kept their distance since it would be bad if they got hit by me.

Suddenly, one of the Imps began chanting an incantation, and they all gathered around him to prevent me from stopping them. I tried figuring out a way to stop him but I couldn't. That's when I looked at the ground beneath me. I lightly kicked dirt up from the ground, getting a lot of it with just one. I smiled and performed a Sword Skill with the staff. I performed a powerful overhead swing that caused the ground beneath me to crumble violently, creating a dust cloud. The warrior Imps began coughing as dust entered their lungs, but the magician Imp was forced to continue his incantation or else they would all suffer the Spellword Fumble Effect. However, I am not like them and do not care if I lose some HP. After all, if I die, then I respawn here, so I have no progress to lose.

I hid inside the smoke, and used the coughing of the Imp warriors to navigate my way to the Imp mage. I bumped into a few of my enemies but quickly backed away when I did, giving them no chance to attack me if they think the person they bumped into was me. I finally found the Imp mage whose incantation lasted a lot longer than I expected. That only makes it more important for me to take him down right now. I grabbed my sword and activated the Sword Skill _Horizontal_. I sliced through his waist, cutting into his body. The attack was not enough to kill him, but it caused him to trigger the Spellword Fumble Effect. The whole area around him got caught in an explosion, and I was pushed back from the force of it. I flew out of the dust cloud and was about to land hard on the ground when someone caught me in the air.

"You tend to attract a lot of attention, don't you?" A girl's voice spoke. The feminine voice sounded strangely familiar.

I turned around to see who had caught me and found myself looking at a familiar looking girl. Her face was relatively the same, except for the very faint purple tone in her milky white skin, a common trait amongst Imps. Her black hair now has a faint blueish-purple color all over it instead of just the ends. Her formerly black eyes now had a brilliant violet color to it. It seemed almost unreal just looking at them. She wore a black-purple corset dress with short sleeves that transformed into a sort of skirt at the bottom end of it. The girl wore a purple choker around her neck which had a flower design all around it. She wore black boots with a metallic knee guard, and grey socks that reached up to her thighs. She had brown leather bracers to protect her arms, and fingerless black gloves. Despite the huge difference in her attire, I instantly knew right away who it was.

"It seems I picked the right race and joined at the right time." Violet said, smiling at me. She helped me stand up and helped wipe the dust off my clothes. "Are you going to keep fighting these guys?"

"I'd rather not." I admitted. "The dust is about to clear up. Let's get out of here already."

Violet and I broke off into a sprint, heading for the outer edges of the city. The Imps tried to chase after us but we were far too fast for them. I had just noticed now that my speed bug seems to only work in the air and not on foot which is slightly unfortunate. When we reached the edge of the city, we dove into an alleyway and took a break there. I leaned against the wall and sat down. Violet also sat down next to me and began observing my attire. She forcefully pulled down my hood and took off my mask. She held the mask in her hands and inspected its details and material.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked her, referring to the fight I had with the Imps.

"An Imp in black wearing a skull mask is fighting seven people at once and is doing so by dual-wielding swords. That's a pretty rare thing to find don't you think?" Violet questioned.

"Yeah, I guess so." I laughed out. I looked at her avatar once more and smiled. "I just knew you would choose the Imp, even if the racial traits don't suit your fighting style. I would have loved to see what your actual ALO avatar looked like. Mine wasn't that special at all."

"I hated mine!" Violet complained. "I had short, bright purple hair with bangs. I was about to ask my father to let me make my own character when I found out I could convert back to my SAO avatar. Speaking of which, do you like this look I have? And be honest!"

"Eh…" I stuttered, hesitating and wisely thinking up of words to say. "I wish your hair was just a solid black, or at least what it was back in SAO. There's just too much violet. And while I do think your eyes look cool, it's just a bit too bright and looks odd against your dark purple hair and attire."

I looked at Violet and clenched my jaw. I tried not to show it, but I braced myself should Violet lash out at me for judging her appearance. Surprisingly, she didn't Instead, she looked down on the ground and made a saddened expression. She grabbed her hair with her right hand and put it in front of her face. She gently stroked it with her free hand and sighed.

"I thought the same thing too." She admitted, making me relax my muscles in relief. "Maybe I will have to ask my dad or some server administrator to let me change my appearance a bit. That will be the only perk I will abuse inside of ALO since it's not technically cheating if it doesn't even benefit you game-wise."

"I can't disagree with you on that." I told her as I stood up from the ground. I held my hand out for her to reach. "Now, let's go find the exit to this trash heap they call a capital."

"It's not appealing, but I wouldn't call it a trash heap. That's just a bit too harsh." Violet argued, taking my hand and letting herself get pulled up by me.

"Whatever. Let's just get out of here."

 **Several minutes later**

We were lucky to find a way out of the city and towards the shortest tunnel exit we could get to. However, we didn't do it alone as we asked a friendly Imp player who was nice enough to show us the shortest way out of this maze of caves. We have hovering slightly above the ground for the past few minutes now. I have yet to teach Violet how to fly without the controller, but since there is limited space in here, the training will have to wait for later when we get outside.

"So, Mortifer…" Violet began. "Will you tell me what happened in ALO when you and Kirito went to go save Asuna?"

"Oh, that?" I answered her. "Since we got nothing to do right now, I guess I can talk about it. Where do you want me to start?"

"From the beginning."

"Do you want every single detail?" I asked since I didn't want to retell the entire story all over again."

"Every single detail." Violet demanded. I guess she really wants to know why and how I got put into the hospital.

"Jeez, okay then."

I began telling Violet the journey Kirito and I went through to get Asuna back into the real world. I first started with the photo of Asuna that was given to us by Agil. He told us about ALfheim Online and that the photo was taken inside the game at the top of the World Tree. I then talked about how Kirito and I got spawned in a forest due to a location data bug. I talked about Yui and had to explain to her who she really is since she doesn't know anything about her. I then told her about Leafa, and how at that time, we didn't realize it was actually Suguha. I told her how we saved her from a bunch of Salamanders and in return, she got us something to drink and volunteered to guide us to the World Tree. I skipped onto the next FullDive since nothing happened in between those two days other than my boring research. I talked about how we were having trouble with Sigurd and how I had to use violence to resolve it since the guy would not back down. I mentioned Recon very quickly so then she wouldn't be confused later on. I told her that Yui and I had a quick conversation about the Darkness Blade. Violet was shocked to find out that Yui was the one who had given me the Unique Skill in the first place, and also questioned me on how much I would change had I not gotten that Skill. I then skipped right to the Lugrue Corridor, where I told her of the Salamander ambush. I rushed through the battle between us and the Salamanders, and briefly mentioned Kirito's transformation into the giant demon creature that looked like _The Gleam Eyes_. I then told her of the revelation Leafa made in  Lugrue and how we volunteered to help her deal with the Salamanders going for the Sylph and Cait Sith peace meeting. I told her about how Kirito fought the supposed strongest player in the game using dual-wielding and emerged victorious. I told her about our intense trip at Jötunheimr, Tonkii, and the discovery of the _Holy Sword Excalibur_. I mentioned the visit to Asuna's hospital and skipped right to our first attempt at the World Tree. I was about to talk about the situation with Suguha when I realized that I am delving deep into super private territory. I have no right to tell anybody about Suguha's attraction towards Kazuto. I then began telling her of our second attempt at the World Tree and suddenly remembered the memory I had with Sakuya.

"I… I need to apologize about something…" I began speaking. I slowed down my flying speed to a stop before touching down to the ground.

"Hm? Apologize about what?" Violet questioned. She too slowed down to a stop and grounded herself.

"During our second attempt at the World Tree, we asked help from the Sylph Lord Sakuya, and the Cait Sith Lord Alicia. Without them, we couldn't have managed to save Asuna. They helped us, but Sakuya wanted something in exchange…"

"Mortifer… What happened?"

Violet held my hand tightly. I looked down at my hands and suddenly remembered them moving behind Sakuya's back and forcefully pulling her towards me. The memory scared me into breaking away from Violet's hold, also shocking her a little bit.

"Because I had displayed my strength, Sakuya grew an attraction towards me. At first, she demanded that I take her out on a date in the real world, but when I mentioned that I already have a girlfriend, she grew envious of you. Therefore, she changed the demands and made those demands final…"

"What… were the demands?" Violet hesitated, as if anticipating them already.

"I was to make out with Sakuya for ten seconds…"

Violet looked at me with deadly serious eyes. I tried meeting with them, but I was too scared and looked at the ground instead. I waited for her to respond for at least ten seconds but heard nothing from her. I mustered up the courage to look into her eyes. She remained silent, and kept that serious expression on her face. She finally broke the silence by letting out a sigh and crossing her arms in front of her. She moved closer to me, to the point where I could see the details in her eyes more clearly.

"I understand that you did it for your brother and Asuna, and I am totally fine with you doing that sort of stuff if it means saving the people you care about." Violet stated. Her plain look vanished and was replaced with that of anger and concern. "However, I want you to be completely honest with me…"

I tried my best not to let her see me try to swallow down my worries, but I was so nervous that it was clear as day when I did so.

"Did you, or did you not enjoy making out with her?" She interrogated me.

"I… did…"

Violet's eyes barely got smaller after I answered her question, as if frowning down upon me even more. While the Voices remained dormant, my heart was pounding intensely.

"Did you make out with her for more than ten seconds?"

I paused to think about my answer. I knew I kissed her for more than ten seconds, but I couldn't exactly remember how long.

"Yes, I did… I kissed her for at least fifteen seconds…"

I felt ashamed of saying the things I was saying. From what I've seen in western movies, TV shows and such, relationships end because of things like these. It would have been worse if Violet was there and was not aware of why I was doing such a thing with Sakuya. I braced myself since I was anticipating getting hit by Violet. However, no punch, slap or even a pinch came to hurt me. Violet's angered expression also faded away for the most part and was replaced with a questioning look. She must be thinking of some punishment or something of the sort. Or at least I was thinking of a punishment before she gave me a quick peck on the lips. I was left stunned from the sudden kiss. She backed away and put her hands behind her back, looking a bit nervous.

"From here on out, you can only satisfy your lust with me. You got that? I forbid you from kissing any other girl for your own satisfaction. You are only allowed to kiss me." Violet demanded, acting really nervous while doing so.

Her demands left me dumbfounded. I expected something harsher, but what she asked for was not that bad. It was a weird demand that was a slight detriment for me, and a slight benefit for her. Maybe I could even say that it fully benefits her. I laughed a little bit and pulled her into an embrace.

"If you are the one who needs to satisfy their lust, then you don't need to make a stupid demand such as that just to get me to kiss you." I told her.

"Don't embarrass me even further!" Violet cried out. Violet's face was completely red now. "L-Let's just get out of this tunnel already!"

Violet broke away from me and sprinted off, heading towards the tunnel's exit. I laughed silently to myself and watched disappear behind a corner of the cave. If she keeps running that fast, she will only get herself tired. I'm pretty sure she already forgot about the controller in her hand that allows her to fly. Either way, I should get a move on right now. I used my wings and took off towards the exit. It didn't take long for me to catch up with Violet, whom I picked up with my hands and began dragging her before she too began using her wings.

"You know, you look cuter when you blush." I complimented her. Violet's face turned even redder and she tried looking away from me. I smiled and looked ahead of us where I began seeing the tunnel brighten up. "Violet look! The exit!"

I grabbed Violet's hands and began dragging her along with me My wings began working even faster as it began absorbing the moonlight. The quality of the air changed, as well as its temperature. The tunnel ended and we were now hovering on top of a steep cliffside which dropped down to mountainous terrain and finally a desert. Remembering the map of ALfheim Online, this region must be the southern deserts which are controlled by the Salamanders. And because it was a desert, the air was rather cold and caused Violet to shiver a bit. Both of us touched down to the ground and I gave her my cloak to wear for the meantime.

"Does that feel better?" I asked her.

"Yes… It does…" She quietly responded, snuggling inside my cloak.

"Don't get too comfortable Violet. I need to teach you how to fly without a controller. Otherwise, you won't get to fully enjoy the amazing sensation of spreading your wings as wide as possible and fly freely with no restrictions."

"You seem very passionate about the flying mechanic of this game." Violet determined.

"I am, and you will be too when you learn how. Go ahead and turn around. Summon your wings, but don't summon the controller."

"Okay then."

Violet listened to my instructions and showed her wings. In the cave, they were rather dark and almost transparent. In the moonlight however, it is at its full potential, glowing a visible purple just like her own eyes. The shape and symbol were similar to my own since both of us are Imps, but her wings were slightly smaller than mine due to our size differences. I put my hand on the spot where the wings converge and pressed down on it.

"You're going to have to be a bit creative about this." I told her. "Imagine there are virtual bones and muscles at this spot here. Try to move them as best as you can."

"Eh? Move bones and muscles I don't even have? That's a bit hard…" Violet complained.

She looked at me with puppy-like eyes, as if wanting me to show her another way. I simply stared back at her blankly, silently telling her that I know no other way since this is how Leafa had taught me and Kirito. If she can't learn it this way, then I will have to drag her all the way to Yggdrasil just so we can arrive on time. Violet sighed and struggled to move her wings manually. Her wings vibrated, but they were small and weak.

"Try making those movements stronger, otherwise your wings won't be strong enough to carry you. You can do it." I tried motivating her.

Her wings were making much bigger movements now, but it is still not enough. They looked the same as Kirito's when he was first learning how to do this from Leafa. I recalled Leafa's actions when she saw this and decided to do the same thing. I looked down to see how far the drop is and thought that it was enough for me to catch up should she not be able to do it in that time.

"Hey, Violet." I called out to her. She turned around and looked at me. I then gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry in advance."

I pushed Violet off the edge of the cliff and she went plummeting down to the bottom.

"Mortifer!" She screamed as she fell down the side of the cliff.

I looked over the edge and watched as she screamed and struggled to get her wings to work. Eventually, her wings' movements were strong enough to change her trajectory. She was now falling at an angle instead of straight down. However, she didn't have much time left, and so I jumped off the cliffside and dove straight down to catch up with her. I swept in and caught her in my arms before she got too close to the ground. She was hyperventilating when I had caught her. She looked at me with panic and fear in her eyes. I simply smiled at jokingly.

"Don't do that ever again!" Violet screamed into my ear while hitting me really hard at the side of the head with each word she spoke.

"But it worked a little, didn't it?" I added in.

I flew a small distance from the mountain before I stopped and hovered in place. I then slowly changed my grip on her, letting go of most of her body and only holding on to her hands. She was now dangling in the air and pulling me down slowly. She already knew what I wanted, and so she began moving her wings once more. Her movements were much stronger now and much faster paced. Eventually, she could hover in place without needing me to hold her. I watched her as she figured out how to ascend, descend and move around in all other directions. After a few more minutes, she seems to be adept in using her wings and is now flying around like me and Kirito when we first got used to manual flight.

"I see what you mean now, about that feeling of spreading your wings." Violet exclaimed gleefully. "This feels amazing!"

"Well hopefully you can keep doing that for a while since we need to get to Yggdrasil City _._ It's quite a distance away from here, so we're going to be going fast."

"That's fine with me." Violet stated.

I moved in behind Violet and wrapped my arms around her. They met at her stomach and tightly locked together. Violet put her hands over mine and held them. She then slowly turned back to look at me with questioning eyes.

"I'm talking about really, really fast." I told her.

Using the speed bug that has been following me since the first time I saved Violet, my body skyrocketed away from the mountain, letting out a loud, explosive noise, much like a sonic boom. My mask helped protect my eyes from watering while Violet used my cloak to cover her own eyes. While I was accustomed to the g-force my speed brings upon me, Violet wasn't. She screamed as if the skin was being pulled off her face.

"Mortifer!"

 **(Violet)**

 **Half an hour later,** **Alne**

I saw the World Tree all the way from the Dragon Valley passage that allowed us to enter the central plains of ALfheim Online. It was impressive then, and it is still impressive now. It's not called the World Tree for nothing because it is quite literally the biggest object I've ever seen in my life. The only thing that could rival its sheer size is Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. While I have never seen that snowy mountain, I don't think it can beat this enormous tree. However, the tree is not the only thing that was breathtaking. The city of Alne, which rests on the roots of the tree, is also a wonderful sight to behold. According to Mortifer, it used to be the capital of ALfheim Online before Yggdrasil City was made by Ymir. I could understand why because of its glorious appearance, but both Mortifer and I have yet to see Yggdrasil City, which is at the center of the tree. Seeing it from down here however, the city appears to be near the top of the tree, unless there is another thousand meters that I can't see all the way up there.

"I'm afraid that no matter how many times I go to this place, the sight of it all will always overwhelm me." Mortifer marveled.

Mortifer and I held hands as we descended downwards. We remained in the air due to the hundreds of people walking in the streets. I still don't know what the event we are gathering for is, but it seems that people are super hyped about it, especially those at the SAO Survivors Reunion. I wanted to ask ViVi about it, but when he found out I didn't know, he kept told everyone to keep it a secret from me. I swear, I would have punched him right then and there if not for Paradox.

I admired the city's beautiful landscape and buildings. The Imp capital didn't stand a chance against Alne. We headed towards the base of the tree where there is supposedly some elevator of some sort that brings us to Yggdrasil City. According to Mortifer, the room where the Grand Quest used to be is now the giant elevator itself. Also, it seems that most of the people in the area are heading for the elevator, making it rather easy for us to find our way to it. We followed the horde of people, flying silently above them. Mortifer decided to move on ahead since he already knew where we were supposed to be going.

"Is there anybody else in the guild who started the game today like you?" Mortifer asked me.

"The only other person I'm aware of is Vitushi-kun. He told me at the café that he's going to be a Sylph. Your sister overheard him and volunteered to guide him to the tree."

"So, we're not going to be the only ones who are late. That's sort of good to know." Mortifer surmised.

Mortifer and I reached the upper platform and landed a short distance away from the giant crowd of people trying to get into Yggdrasil City. The two of us squeezed into the crowd, managing to get inside the giant elevator before a loud ring sounded throughout the area. A barrier of light appeared on the threshold of the giant doorway, preventing anybody from entering and leaving.

"The elevator has reached its maximum capacity of players. Please back away from the doors as they close. The elevator will return shortly." An announcer spoke through some intercom system.

The people trying to enter the elevator groaned in disappointment while everyone else inside the elevator sighed in relief, including us. The doors slowly closed behind us and the room dimmed slightly. Suddenly, the elevator jerked upwards, causing a few people to fall over from the sudden movements. We were accelerating rather rapidly as I could feel the g-forces acting upon my body. It would make sense for it to be fast since the tree is so big, but I do wish they could improve this elevator system later. And in less than thirty seconds, the elevator's rise began slowing down, Eventually, we came to a full stop. The elevator's doors opened, revealing us the beauty that is Yggdrasil City.

The city had an elven theme going on, with lots of white, green and yellow colors on the buildings. Even though it appeared to be located inside the branches of the tree, the city itself was like a city in the sky. We were on the outer edges of the city which were elevated high off the ground. I could see the tree branches below us as well as above us. It's like we are in a huge open space within the tree itself. Everything was built on top of a colossal landmass that was supported on top of the tree's branches, Towards the other side of the city was an entirely open space where you could fly out into the open sky of ALO. Even from here, I could visibly see the full moon since all of the taller buildings were off to the side. It's like they planned out the city to look beautiful upon your first entry to it.

"Wait, we could have flown up here?" Mortifer exclaimed. "Well I just wasted my time…"

I laughed a bit as I continued to admire the city even more. Connecting the city and the elevator was some sort of sky bridge that had archways lining it throughout, making a beautiful, elven-inspired bridge. Outlining the city was a long, paved walkway. A small stonewall acted as a guard to prevent people from accidentally walking off the city and falling to their deaths. This long wall was lined with magical torches burning bright blue flames. In front of us is some sort of market plaza where lots of people were currently at. Further down was a huge main plaza, much like the Starting City of Sword Art Online. In fact, you could say that this is a much smaller version of that same city. If it is, then the Black Iron Palace seems to have been replaced by a titanic church-like building. It seems like one of those cathedrals you see in those holy places of Europe. This church was located off to the left side of the city when you enter from the elevator. In front of that cathedral was a giant white tree which had floating magical lights. Even from this distance, I could see the lights orbiting around the tree.

The right side of the city was elevated slightly but not as much as the outer edges. It was filled with large houses that could possibly be rented by players. I could see smoke coming out of the sky from those places, so there could also be blacksmith shops and other things in that area. It could very well be an area dedicated to the players, with purchasable homes and what not. I do wonder what the houses over there are like, and how expensive they are. We should be able to purchase anything we want since we still have some money from our time in SAO. According to Kirito, Mortifer is quite possibly the richest player in game. If we combine our guild's money, we could very well be the richest group in-game, beating all of the nine fairy Lords here in ALO in terms of money. However, Mortifer said he had plans for something, and it will apparently cause us to become bankrupt, or near that point. I wonder what monstrosity could bankrupt a group that's worth more than three trillion Yrd. It almost feels like cheating which saddens me since I don't like to cheat.

Going back to the city, there is some odd structure at the opposite side of the city where it is exposed to the sky of ALfheim. There is a large platform hanging off the edge of the city, much like the one holding the elevator. It was much lower than the rest of the city, making it easy to see from our current location. A single lonely archway stood on this platform. It looked so plain and boring that it seemed out of place. There has to be a reason why that archway is there. I guess I'll just find out about it later.

Mortifer and I walked down the path, following the crowd of players to the central plaza. The streets widened as we entered the market area. We soon had enough room to comfortably walk instead of being squeezed by other players. We held hands and walked towards the central plaza where a large group of players were located. When we entered the plaza, I heard a voice call out from within the crowd of people.

"Violet-san! Mortifer-san!" The voice called out.

I recognized the familiar tone of it, and both of us turned our heads to the direction of the calls. We saw a hand pop up above people's hands, frantically waving at us. I couldn't see who it was until he or she started jumping up and down like a little kid. It was a girl with light blue hair. She wore white clothing that had a light blue trim to it. I focused on her face even more and realized that the girl was actually Paradox. She motioned for us to come to her and we made our way to her. We pushed through the crowd and reached Paradox who was with the rest of the guild. Kirito and his friends were here too. Yui, Kirito's in-game AI daughter, was also present and sitting on Asuna's shoulder. There were also people I saw at the SAO Survivors Reunion, but I didn't know their names. They all smiled at our arrival.

"You guys are late!" Kirito shouted out to us in response.

"I got here even before you guys did!" ViVi announced. "I finally beat you at something Mortifer-san!"

"So, you're admitting to everyone that you haven't beaten me in things that actually matter?" Mortifer questioned my cousin, effectively closing ViVi's mouth. Rizer couldn't help but laugh at Mortifer's blunt remark.

"You're as cold as ever, aren't you?" Zed groaned out. Mortifer didn't respond but simply walked past Zed and began conversing with Kirito. "I guess that answers my question…"

While Mortifer conversed with Kirito, I took that time to see everyone else in the guild. From the looks of it, there are only four people who are not unique among the group. Those four people are Cayonz, Paradox, Mortifer and myself. Mortifer and I chose the Imp race while Cayonz and Paradox chose to become Undines. I may have been the only one to choose a race specifically for the looks because everyone else chose races that fit their skills and abilities. Because they are the group's healers, Cayonz and Paradox chose the Undines. Rizer chose Leprechaun because they are a race of blacksmiths. Zed chose the Salamanders because of they are the most combat-focused race in all of ALfheim. Konno became a Gnome to maintain his role as the group's tank. ViVi became a Sylph because of their mastery in air-magic as well as their high-speed flying capabilities. Aqua chose the Cait Sith so she could use a bow to its fullest potential. Trish became a Pooka because of their magical capabilities and mastery in music magic. And finally, Mortifer chose the Imp race due to its espionage capabilities and flight inside of dungeons. I felt a little bit ashamed since I only chose Imps because of the purple themed. Otherwise, I would have chosen to become a Salamander like Zed since I mainly focus on combat anyway.

"So, how long did it take you guys to get here?" I asked them.

"Actually, all of us logged out in Alne the last time we played together. We've been here for quite a while now, waiting for you guys to get here." Rizer explained. "Though I do admit, getting to this place for the first time took me half a day. Even though that tree is so big and easy to find, I got lost in the tunnel shortcut between the tree and the Leprechaun capital. How about you?"

"If you include the time it took us to get out of the Alphine areas where the Imps live, then about forty-five minutes. Mortifer and I actually logged on about an hour ago. We flew to Alne as fast as we could. Or, more like Mortifer flew her as fast as he could. I just piggybacked. It seems that speed bug of his is also in this game."

"How many more games is he going to break?" Zed mumbled.

"Who knows? It's Mortifer we're talking about here. I don't think game rules apply whenever he's around." Konno joked.

"So, what exactly is everyone in the game gathering for here?" I asked them.

"We already said we're not going to tell you Violet-san." Paradox giggled out. I groaned and glared at ViVi who hid behind Cayonz.

"You're not the only one who doesn't know what's coming, Violet-san." Leafa said as she approached me. "I also don't know what's coming. Nobody is telling me either. We're both in the spotlight."

"Yeah, I guess we are." I laughed out.

"Leafa!" A voice called out from nearby.

Everyone turned around to see who was speaking. What we saw was a large group of Sylphs, all wearing armor. In fact, the mixed crowd of players moved to a different location because of these Sylphs. Not a second later, another large group of players appeared right next to them. This time, it was a group of Cait Sith. Two female players were at the very front of the group, wearing clothes that differed from everyone else's. Because of that, I assumed that they are the leaders of their groups. The Sylph girl was dressed in a green kimono, while the Cait Sith girl wore clothing similar to Aqua's. The Sylph girl made a mischievous smile, and crossed her arms in front of her. She seemed to be looking behind me. I was about to turn around to look when Mortifer suddenly walked past me and Leafa.

"Hello Mortifer-kun…" The Sylph girl greeted.

"Sakuya…" Mortifer grumbled. Wait, this is that Sylph Lord Mortifer made out with? "What are you doing here?"

"Why so I get to experience the big reveal of course! You don't need to be so cold to me." She answered. She then turned her gaze to me and smiled. "Oh my… Is this your girlfriend Mortifer-kun? She doesn't seem to be very happy to see me."

I suddenly realized that I was visibly glaring at her with angered eyes. My hands were also balled into a fist out of frustration and jealousy. Mortifer looked back at me, his face covered by his mask. Even so, I could see his emotionless expression while looking at me.

"Can I have your name?" Sakuya asked me.

"Violet…" I grumbled back in response.

"Violet… Well, it's good to meet you. And I must say, you picked the right man."

Sakuya and her army of Sylphs began walking away from us, making me feel relieved. The Cait Sith group followed them except for the girl at front who continuously looked back and forth between Sakuya and us. She then bowed towards me and Mortifer.

"H-Hi! My name is Alicia!" She greeted. "I'm sorry for her ill-behavior. Forgive her please!"

Alicia ran off to catch up with Sakuya and the two of them began conversing. Mortifer let out a sigh of relief and put his hand on his face. He pulled down his hood and removed the mask he was wearing. He clipped the mask onto his belt and walked back towards the guild.

"What the hell was that?" Rizer questioned.

Everyone else also wanted to know what was going on. The only other people who seem to know is Kirito and Leafa, who are both holding embarrassed expressions as if remembering what had transpired. They were there when it happened, so they seem to know more about it than I do.

"It was nothing. Just ignore it." Mortifer harshly responded, causing Rizer not to question him anymore.

Mortifer returned back to converse with Kirito, leaving everyone a bit disappointed. Leafa also returned to Kirito's group of friends, leaving me with my guild. I saw ViVi open up his mouth to say something when another person shouted loudly behind me.

"Spriggan!" A male's voice bellowed.

We all turned around and met with yet another large group of players. This time, it was a group of menacing looking Salamanders. The person at the front towered above the rest, and wore armor that had a brighter red color. I could see a large red-purple broadsword strapped on his back.

"Oh! General Eugene of the Salamanders!" Kirito greeted him with a smile. So, this was the supposed strongest player before Kirito beat him?

"The Imp is here too… Now that I think about it, I never got your names.

"My name is Kirito" He greeted the Salamander.

"Mortifer…" Mortifer greeted him.

"I'm eager to have a rematch with you, Kirito. And I also want to challenge you Mortifer, and see just how strong you really are." Eugene admitted.

"Well I hope you're prepared for a beatdown!" Zed shouted to Eugene from behind me. "The guy's is a monster when it comes to combat."

Eugene looked at Zed as if he were disgusted by the way Zed was talking to him. This guy must be super prideful which will only make his loss against Mortifer that much worse for him. While I haven't seen him fight, if the guy couldn't beat Kirito, then there's no way he can beat Mortifer.

"Who are those guys?" Eugene asked Mortifer and Kirito.

"They're our friends. That group over there is my guild from another game." Mortifer answered. He pointed back towards us with his thumb.

"You got a unique looking group." Eugene complimented. "Well, I'm only here to greet you guys. I need to get my army prepared for the night. Plus, Sakuya and Alicia are over there. I want to see if they got something to say to me…"

Eugene and his army walked off to the same direction as Sakuya and Alicia. Mortifer and Kirito looked at Eugene walking away with worried faces.

"You think a fight's going to break out Katsu-nii?" Kirito asked.

"I have no clue." Mortifer answered.

"Why would I fight break out?" I asked them.

"Salamanders and Sylphs are not on good terms with one another. They're always at each other's throats." Leafa explained to me. "You can say Sakuya and Eugene are in-game rivals, even if Eugene isn't the Lord of the Salamanders. It was much worse when the Grand Quest was still active since all of the races competed to see who would get to the top of the tree first."

"Why can't everyone just get along…" I sighed out.

Everyone went back to talking with one another. I looked at the small clock tower located at the center of the plaza. The clock read eleven-fifty, meaning there are ten more minutes remaining until the midnight reveal of whatever they are adding into the game. Just so everyone is aware of this, I turned to face everyone and announced it to them.

"Hey guys!" I began. "There are ten minutes left before midnight!"

"Really? Sweet!" ViVi exclaimed.

"I can't wait to see it!" Aqua shouted in glee. "Are you ready to see it too Trish?!"

"Y-Yeah… I think so." She timidly responded.

I sighed as I still didn't know why they are so hyped about.

"Hey Mortifer!" Agil called out to him. The big man approached Mortifer, who had put his mask back on for unknown reasons. "Did you get the package into your AmuSphere?"

"Oh that! I almost forgot about it." Mortifer exclaimed.

"Wait, what package?" I asked him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to explain to you what happened when we got to the top of the tree. Well, I got this thing from a guy, and apparently there was another thing hidden inside it. The thing inside was supposed to be a gift for me that I am supposed to put into my AmuSphere so I could see this one guy in the game. It's a bit too complicated to explain everything so quickly, so I'm sorry if you didn't get it."

"I didn't get it at all." I openly admitted.

"Well sorry then… So, uh… Kirito, how did you find Yui?" Mortifer asked his brother.

"Yui?" Kirito asked. "I found her as an item in my inventory."

"Moment of truth…" Mortifer said as he opened up his menu.

Everyone gathered around Mortifer as he navigated his menu. He opened up his Inventory and scrolled through the several items inside of it. Pieces of armor, weapons, consumable items and monster drops could be seen throughout all of it. It wasn't until he got to the very bottom of the list where he found something rather strange. He came across an item with a displayed name of "?". The item was symbolized with a sword, indicating that it was a weapon of some sort. Not only that, the box where the name is displayed is also darkened unlike the rest of his inventory. Mortifer equipped the strange item which materialized in his hands as a black sword. Upon looking at it for a few more seconds, everyone in the guild recognized it to be one of the swords Mortifer used to fight things back in Sword Art Online. It was his beloved _Sword of Darkness_.

"Why is your sword in here?" Kirito asked Mortifer.

"I don't know… I thought I was supposed to be meeting someone, so I expected something more like Yui…" Mortifer answered. "Wait, how did Yui materialized when you equipped her as an item?"

"Well, I touched the item first with my index finger, but you already are so that doesn't seem to be the case…"

"I wonder…"

Mortifer took the sword in his right hand and began swinging it around in the air in front of him, making sure not to accidentally hit us with the blade or with his arm while he does his movements. He did this for several seconds, but got no response out of it. He tapped the blade on the ground several times and still got no response. Everyone, including Mortifer is confused as to why nothing is happening. Mortifer is now carefully examining the blade close up, as if looking for anything special. He rubbed his finger on the sharp side of it, accidentally cutting himself. However, instead of seeing the normal red cut of pixels on his finger, what we saw was actual blood. A droplet of Mortifer's blood fell on the sword which began radiating a bright light.

Mortifer dropped the sword out of surprise, but the sword didn't fall. Instead, it rose up to the sky and hovered a meter or so above Mortifer. The light it radiated was a mix of white and black light, giving a rather interesting light show. Everyone in the plaza now had their attention on Mortifer's swords. The Sylphs, Cait Sith and Salamanders have returned to us to see what in the world was going on. Everyone held confused and questioning expressions on their faces as they stared at the magical sword. After a while, the light turned into shadow which began forming something on the ground right below the sword. This shadowy entity soon to be recognizable as the silhouette of some human. It was crouched down on the ground, so I couldn't tell how big the person really was. Suddenly, the sword exploded in a flash of light, leaving behind a fully formed human who was no longer a silhouette. The man had long silver hair and a very muscular build. He had one wing that spread itself from his right shoulder, and an absurdly long katana-looking weapon on his left waist. The man stood straight up, facing away from Mortifer. I wanted to get a closer look at who the man was when Mortifer suddenly pushed me away from him with enough force to send me flying towards the guild. His actions confused me until I heard a loud ring reverberating through the air around us. I looked back at Mortifer, who had unsheathed his twin blades so he could block an attack from the silver-haired man.

"You've grown quite strong. That was remarkable reaction time." The man commented on Mortifer's ability. Mortifer didn't respond to him, but instead looked back at us.

"Clear the area! Go!" He shouted with desperation in his voice.

The first to react were the random players who screamed out in fear and ran away from the plaza. What happened next was almost blinding. The silver-haired man's movements were so fast that I almost couldn't keep track. He swung his long katana with lightning speed, causing Mortifer to panic and begin blocking. Usually he dodges attacks, but since they were so fast he was forced to stand his ground and block all of them. The Sylphs, Cait Sith, and Salamanders also backed away. Eugene especially, was stunned at the fight he was witnessing. The one-winged man rushed Mortifer with an onslaught of attacks with his sword before passing through behind Mortifer. Even though he didn't appear to get hit by his attacks, Mortifer's body suddenly exploded with blood. Multiple severe cuts appeared throughout his body which were now stained with blood.

"Mortifer!" I cried out to him.

"Violet no!" Kirito yelled as he pulled me away from the two combatants.

Even though Mortifer took a beating from his opponent, he didn't back then. And instead of being on the defensive, Mortifer went on the offensive this time. He summoned his wings and rushed the man with his twin blades. His opponent performed powerful slashing attacks that sent out beams of dark energy. Not wanting to know what they were, Mortifer barely dodged them before beginning his attack on the man. Even though Mortifer's attack were fast and power, it wasn't fast enough. Out of the twenty strikes Mortifer attempted, he only managed to land three of them. He managed to cut his face, his arm and leg but they were rather small and insignificant. The man forced them to go on a standstill. Neither of them gave any ground, but the one-winged man removed one of his hands from his sword and summoned a black flame in his hand and crushed it in his fist. The ground around them ignited and Mortifer backed away before a pillar of brilliantly hot flames scorched the zone. The man inside the inferno remained unharmed and jumped out of his magic spell. He rushed Mortifer once again with a barrage of quick attacks. Mortifer however has adjusted to the incredible speed and is finally able to block almost all of his attack and return just as many. The fight looked pretty even if you didn't include Mortifer's lower HP.

It was all going well until Mortifer was literally kicked all the way up the sky by the man. Because I was in his party, I saw Mortifer's health drop all the way to the orange-zone, causing me to worry greatly. Mortifer almost touched the branches above us before he suddenly hit some sort of invisible barrier which pulsed energy, revealing its position and shape momentarily before becoming invisible again. Mortifer came tumbling back down. He recovered himself and spread his wings out, hovering far above his opponent. His enemy began raising both of his hands up to the sky and created some sort of wormhole above him. Out of this wormhole came a barrage of fiery hot rocks came firing towards Mortifer. They appeared to be very small meteors. Even with their small size, I could feel the extreme heat even from back here. I expected Mortifer to run away, but instead he dove straight down towards the man, sliding past the meteors which ignited his clothing, making Mortifer himself appear like a giant flaming arrow.

The wormhole closed and the man drew his held his sword to his side. Mortifer slid past the last of the meteors and readied his blades. The silver-haired man jumped towards Mortifer and the two of them prepared to attack. Should Mortifer get here by him, his avatar will perish. While I cannot see the HP of the adversary, I can tell that he too is in the same situation. The two of them got closer, and closer to each other until they both slashed at the same time. Mortifer continued falling while the man continued rising. I thought both of them had missed when Mortifer suddenly lost his balance and began tumbling downwards. I wanted to scream out his name and go for him but he was falling much too fast. He crash-landed on the plaza, creating a large explosion of dust. His opponent was now gently floating back down to the ground. He landed, showing no signs of injury and looked back at the explosion of dust. I thought Mortifer had lost when he appeared from the cloud of smoke. He limped his way towards his opponent who remained standing silently. I wanted to scream at them to stop their fight when Mortifer suddenly walked past the man and stopped a short distance away from him.

"You're pretty good…" The silver-haired man told Mortifer.

Suddenly, Mortifer's opponent exploded into millions of pixels – the death animation of SAO and ALO. Where he once stood, there was now a familiar looking broadsword. I knew I had seen it before, but I couldn't recall where. Mortifer looked at the sword and touched it with his hand. The sword seemingly dissolves into some sort of light energy which Mortifer absorbed. A screen of light appeared in front of him, indicating that he's received an item which I am assuming is that large broadsword. He looked at his hand which was bleeding previously, but has now stopped. He closed his hand into a fist and looked at us. Everyone in the plaza stared at him in awe. While Mortifer's fight with Heathcliff was impressive, it was too one-sided, with Mortifer being favored the victory due to his _Surge of Darkness_. While both of them died in the end, it was still Mortifer's win. Even Heathcliff agreed that it was his victory. Here however, the fight was so close. Their attacks were fast and powerful. Neither one of them gave each other any ground to move. No attacks were wasted near the end. And Mortifer's determination to win by recklessly diving into that meteor only made everyone even more amazed.

"Mortifer…" I whispered to him as I slowly creeped towards him.

Without even saying a word, Mortifer summoned his wings and took off. He flew all the way to the archway at the other side of town. Instead of landing on the floating platform, he landed on the archway itself. I could see his tiny silhouette sit down on the archway and stayed put. The huge crowd of players around us began mumbling words I couldn't comprehend, but I could tell they were gossiping about Mortifer. The crowd began dispersing. Some of them headed off to the market. Others went to the cathedral area and the residential area. Another group ran over to the archway as if wanting to see Mortifer while a really small one headed back to the elevator. The Sylphs, Cait Siths, and Salamanders remained near us. They too were looking at the archway where Mortifer sat. Sakuya, Alicia and even Eugene looked at us with curious faces. Sakuya began whispering to her one of her soldiers who then quietly conveyed the message to everyone else, including the Cait Sith. The two armies walked away from us and went to do their own thing. Eugene also signaled his army to leave us be, and they all obeyed. The only ones who remained in the plaza, were Kirito and his friends, my guild, the two female Lords and General Eugene.

"I suspect you want to talk to us privately?" Kirito guessed. "There's no other reason for you to disperse your armies like that."

"Indeed, you are correct." Sakuya stated.

"Where in the world did he learn to fight like that?" Eugene questioned us, expressing total disbelief.

"Mortifer's been through a lot of training in the ways of the sword." Kirito began explaining to everyone. "My brother was once a kendo practitioner. He was a finalist in the national tournament several years ago."

"Wait, really?" I asked Kirito, bewildered.

"Did he not tell you?" Leafa asked me. "He was a strong contender in the kendo tournament. He could have won the tournament, but he got into a serious accident a few days before the tourney. So, the person he beat in the semi-finals took his place and even managed to become the champion afterwards. Because of that, everyone back then assumed that if he had not gotten into the accident, he would have won the entire competition."

"This is the first time I've heard of this…" Rizer announced. "Is it the same with you guys?"

"I think I remember something about him doing kendo, but I didn't know anything about him being a finalist, nor this accident of his." I answered. "What accident did he get into?"

"He was the victim of a drunk driver. He had a head on collision with a fast car. Apparently, he should have died on impact, but my brother claimed to have jumped to avoid getting hit full-force. Because of that, he managed to live." Kirito explained to us.

"Just how much shit has that guy gotten into?" Zed grumbled. Paradox elbowed him at the side, shutting him up.

"While I must say that becoming a finalist is impressive, I do not believe kendo is a good enough reason for his remarkable swordsmanship." Sakuya stated. Eugene and Alicia nodded in agreement. All of Kirito's friends also looked at us questioningly. The only ones who really know the truth seems to be me, the guild, Kirito and Suguha.

"I'm afraid we can't tell you exactly why Mortifer-kun is that powerful." Cayonz spoke for us. "Other than that, it's his determination to overcome his obstacles is what makes him a powerful fighter."

Again, it wasn't like Cayonz to be the one speaking. But it seems that every time he does speak, it makes it more impactful than everybody else. Sakuya and Alicia looked at each other and nodded as if satisfied with the answer we gave them. They bowed towards us and walked off to join their armies. Eugene simply walked away from us, a bit disgruntled. I let out a long sigh and looked at the clock. All of that happened in less than ten minutes. There are only two minutes left before midnight. I looked back at the archway where Mortifer is at. He hasn't moved at all, and a few people were nearby him. I sighed and summoned my wings.

"I'm going to go check on him, okay?" I told my guild.

"Go ahead. Meanwhile, we'll build up our hype for the event again." ViVi exclaimed.

I took off, leaving my guild with Kirito and his group of friends. I flew towards the archway and tried my best to silently approach Mortifer so I could surprise him. However, it didn't work since he looked behind him before I could even get a few meters close to him. I forgot that he has superhuman senses. I flew over to the top of the archway and sat down next to him.

"That man…" Mortifer began. "He was Cloud's darkness…"

"Cloud?" I asked him. "You mean that mentor of yours back in SAO?"

"Yeah… That man with silver hair is named Sephiroth. I still don't fully understand the conflict between them, but I of all people know what it's like to have something inside you that you just can't purge. A darkness that you can't control…"

Mortifer pulled down his hood and removed the mask he was wearing. He then rested his head on my shoulder, making me a bit happy. I gently stroked his hair with my right hand and used my left hand to hold his own. Curious as to what he was thinking, I touched my head to is. I was expecting to hear the Voices or some terrifying image. Instead, I saw the memories he had with me. Our honey moon in the 47th Floor, as well as the fun times we spent on our Island in the 24th. Images of the day he proposed to me as well as the day we had our wedding popped up in my head. Seeing the memories gave me a warm feeling in my heart.

Mortifer lifted his head up slowly, giving me enough time to back away. He opened up his menu and began scrolling through his Inventory. He stopped at a weapon called the _Buster Sword_ , and materialized it out in front of him. The giant blade I saw earlier appeared and fell on his lap. He struggled to move to a more comfortable positioned and quickly gave up.

"This is the sword Cloud wields…" Mortifer explained. He slid his hand across the smooth surface of the sword's blade. "I got it from Kayaba Akihiko…"

"Kayaba?" I exclaimed. "How?"

"After the SAO incident, he performed a high-power output scan on his brain in an attempt to upload it to the Internet. He succeeded, and he is now one with the digital world. In ALO, I faced off against the creator and was tortured to the point of passing out. That's why I was in the hospital. However, I didn't actually pass out, and was really put into another reality. In there, I talked with Kayaba and made a deal with him. He would help me save Asuna, and in exchange, I would take care of the World Seed."

"You mean that thing that allows people to create their own virtual reality?"

"Yes… That… Anyway, Agil had found something hidden inside of The Seed, and he gave it to me today at the SAO Survivors Reunion when most of the people left. The name of the file had the same name as the quest I undertook with Cloud inside the Cave… The Darkness Within… Kayaba had left a recorded message for me there, telling me that someone is waiting for me. I hoped it was Cloud, but it was Sephiroth who came out of the _Sword of Darkness_. However, when I absorbed this sword's light, I felt Cloud's presence, giving me an idea that this item is Cloud himself… Anyways, I checked to specs of this weapon. And I found it to have a rather interesting ability… It's called _Eternal Memories_."

Mortifer motioned his head, as if he wanted me to look at the sword. He took his hand and purposely slid the palm of his on the sharp end of his sword, causing it to get cut open. Mortifer took no damage from his self-inflicted injury, but his hand did not have the typical red mark of SAO or ALO. Instead, it was like bleeding just like earlier when he had accidentally cut himself with the _Sword of Darkness_. Mortifer began using his own blood to paint on the blade itself. He wrote out the kanji characters for the word Grim Reaper. The blood trail he left ignited into flames before disappearing. What was left was not a trail of blood, but a perfectly detailed engraving of the word embedded into his sword. My mouth dropped open with amazement until Mortifer used his clean hand to begin rubbing it the engraving away like magic. His hand stopped bleeding and he wiped the remaining blood on his tattered cloak. He then took my hand in his blood-stained hand and held it tightly.

"Violet… I want you to be the first person to leave a memory on this blade… I want you to be the first because…" Mortifer began speaking but his voice faltered. He held my hands tighter to the point where it was uncomfortable. He realized his actions and loosened his grip.

"Why do you want me to become the first Mortifer?" I asked him, trying to get him to say the words he wants to speak.

Mortifer let go of my hand and instead, put it up to my chin. The two of us touched foreheads and looked down at his dirtied hand.

"Violet… It doesn't matter to me if you don't care for my well-being, nor does it matter to me if you don't even love me back… If you don't look my way, then I am fine with that… And in the future, if we happen to split apart, I am fine if you don't even remember me as the person you once loved… Because I will always remember you, and how much you meant to me…"

Our foreheads separated and we looked into each other's eyes. His expression showed no emotion, but his eyes were filled with what seemed like a bottomless pit of loneliness. They were crying for me to fill in that blank space he has in his life. And that's what I am planning on doing. I quickly slid my hand on the blade, feeling no pain because it is a game. I then used my blood and began painting the kanji character for love – "Ai". It's pronounced the same way my first name is pronounced, making it impossible for Mortifer to forget my first name if he uses this sword all the time. I then put my bloodied hand to Mortifer's face and smiled at him.

"I do care for you, and I do love you. I will always look your way, especially when you cry out to me. And there is no way I can forget you because you have already taken a part of me I cannot live without. I love you Kirigaya Katsumoto-kun, and that won't ever change until the day I die…"

We joined our lips together and shared each other's warmth. Our passionate kiss lasted for several seconds before we broke apart. Suddenly, from the center of the plaza, the clock tower struck midnight. A loud bell sounded in all directions, causing Mortifer to look up in surprise. He then began grinning really wide.

"It's here!" He gleefully shouted into the sky.

"Hey you guys!" Kirito's voice called out from behind us.

Kirito, his friends, and the guild were all flying towards us. In fact, every single player currently in Yggdrasil City seemed to have gathered around the archway we were sitting on. Everyone had excited looks on their face, especially ViVi, who couldn't keep himself still. Everyone else was checking their weapons or practicing their flying with the controller. In fact, it seems the only other persons who know how to fly like me and Mortifer are Zed and Paradox, who have been playing ALO ever since school started. Mortifer stood up and summoned his wings. He hovered a small distance above me and reached out his hand for me to grab. I took his hand and summoned out my wings to hover at his level.

"Here, look at that…" Mortifer suggested as he moved behind me and pointed towards the moon. I looked at him confused since it was just an ordinary full moon.

"W-What's wrong with the moon?" I asked him.

He didn't respond and instead continued pointing. That's when I saw something appear out of the clouds of the sky. An insanely large floating object came floating downward, blocking the moonlight from reach Yggdrasil City. The object stood on top of a large landmass and had a rough cone shape to it. Pillars that looked like swords extending from the bottom of the cone-shaped structure. And at the very top of the massive structure, I could see the silhouette of a castle. My eyes widened as I began realizing what it was, and when the landmass suddenly started glowing brightly, my suspicious were confirmed. I looked back and forth between Mortifer and the large structure in disbelief. I've only seen it twice, yet it is impossible for me to forget that very place. The Floating Castle Aincrad hovered above ALfheim, glowing brilliantly in the night.

"That's what we were gathered for?!" I exclaimed, causing my guild to laugh at my cluelessness.

"The whole school was talking about it Violet! I still can't believe you didn't even hear a whisper of it!" ViVi mocked me.

"But why is it here?" I questioned them.

"It's here because we have come here to finish this." Mortifer stated. "When Ymir took control of ALO, they found a copy of Heathcliff's Aincrad inside the server's files. Because of that, Ymir decided to make New Aincrad become ALO's next grand quest. We're all gathered here so we can start over again from scratch. All of us together will now work on defeating that very same castle which had trapped us in hell for two years. We are going to clear all one-hundred levels, and conquer the Ruby Palace that stands at the very top!"

"Yeah!" Everyone around us shouted. Mortifer then held me hand and smiled at me.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah!" I happily answered him.

The two of us were the first to head towards the Floating Castle Aincrad, followed Kirito, Asuna and Leafa. Shortly after, everyone else came flying towards the castle at high speeds. ViVi came zooming past us, trying his best to go his fastest on the controller. He was then beaten by Zed and Paradox, who could naturally fly faster since the controller had a speed limit. Mortifer looked at me and I nodded. I grabbed his arm with both hands and braced myself as he skyrocketed ahead of everyone else. He slowed down when we found ourselves on a walking platform that led to a giant door. Soon, everyone in the guild, as well as Kirito and his friends joined us on the platform and approached the giant door.

"Do the honors Mortifer!" Kirito encouraged.

Mortifer rubbed his hands and put them against the door. Using all his might, he began to slowly push the doors open, causing a brilliant light to leak out into the darkness of the night. All of us began walking through the door as we were then teleported to the center of a very familiar plaza. When I looked behind me, I no longer saw the door. Instead, I could see the Black Iron Palace which dominated the entirety of the Town of Beginnings. More and more people were being teleported to the inside of Aincrad and was left in complete awe seeing the city. What made it better was the fact that it was currently daytime inside of Aincrad, allowing us to be able to see everything in all its glory. And just like what had happened in the first day of Sword Art Online's launch, an enormous avatar appeared floating in the sky and announced to everyone:

"Welcome to the new Sword Art Online!"

/

/

/

 _Well, that concludes **The Darkness Within Part 2 - Fairy Dance Arc**_. As of the day I had posted this chapter, it has been two years since I started writing this entire story. I hope you guys didn't dislike the love stuff too much, but I had to add it in because that's how close I want those two characters to be. I will begin writing out what I like to call **Book 2** of this Fanfiction/Original Story piece ( **Book 1** being **The Darkness Within** ). And once again, **Book 2** will have the edgy title of **No More Sorrow** , and is a completely original story that just happens to take place during the time SAO Extra Edition occurs. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this story. I'll see you again.


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